Courageous Dragon Knight
by Gema J. Gall
Summary: Coauthored with YamiUmiRyu. Three American duelist find themselves in the middle of the worldwide crisis of real Duel Monsters, ancient magic, and lost souls. Orichalcos Saga.
1. Out of the Frying Pan

**Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction**

**Courageous Dragon Knight**

By: Gema J. Gall and YamiUmiRyu

Disclaimer: This is a co-authored fic. The plot was jointly constructed and we each own our original characters. YUR owns her fanarts on this fic. Nothing of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! plot is ours, though.

AN/ This is a rewrite from the original version, due to a fall-out with one of the co-authors. Those of us remaining are doing everything we can to make this better than the original.

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was a nice, sunny day outside. But despite the good weather, three close friends were sitting inside at their computers, IMing each other, trying to make plans on how to enjoy the day. They all lived in the San Francisco area. Gema Gall was sitting cross-legged on her bed in her house in the suburbs, her laptop opened. Kenyon Knight lived inside the city, and was sitting in his apartment with the windows open, enjoying the breeze. Miranda Ryu was in a dimly lit basement of the temple she lived in, barely in the outskirts of the city's limit. The window chimed and a new message appeared.

Miranda: How about the usual place?

Kenyon: Again?

Gema: …one moment, something passed in front of my window…

Gema walked over to her window, parting the blinds with two fingers and peering outside. Her blue eyes went wide when she saw the strange creature fly across her back yard. She had been studying Duel Monsters enough to recognize the bluish-green dragon with a long snout when she saw it. Spear Dragon. Her jaw hung opened as she watched the shadow crossover the two trees and grill. No duelist or duel disk was in sight. But then it occurred to her that holograms don't cast shadows. She scrambled to her laptop.

Gema: That can't be! I swear I just saw a Spear Dragon go by!

Miranda: What?

Gema: I –swear- I just saw a –real- Duel Monster pass!

Miranda: Ha. Ha. Ha. Right Gema, you're not fooling us. Right, Kenyon?

Kenyon: Duel Monster's aren't real, they're holograms. I thought –you- of all people would know that Gema.

Gema: I'm not joking Miranda. There's no duel disks in sight!

Kenyon: I'm more worried about the guy with turquoise hair, fangs, and a violet cape hanging out at the street corner. Now –he's- real. And he's starting to freak me out, cause all he's doing is standing there in the shadows.

Gema: Vampire Lord!

Miranda: This is too disappointing… both of you are….

It went silent on her end for a long moment. Kenyon and Gema were both frequently glancing up at their windows, anxiously hoping to see nothing unusual. Kenyon got up from his swivel chair, and stared into the streets below. To him, it looked like a Rent-A-Zilla shop had opened nearby. Large Duel Monsters freely roamed the streets. Cars skidded to a halt, the drivers frantically untangling seat belts as they tried to bolt the other direction down the street. Some opportunists were using this as a chance to help liquidate Best Buy's inventory. Kenyon blinked a few times, trying to make sense of it all. A chime from his computer finally caused him to break his attention from the streets.

Gema: Miranda! Kenyon!

Miranda: Feral Imp…In my basement! Meet you at the usual ASAP!

Miranda has logged out.

Gema: Miranda!

Kenyon: Are you okay! Did the Rent-A-Zilla people open by you too!

Gema: We need to get out of here! We don't know if it's safe or not! Crap! This is unreal! Where's my TV remote when I need it!

Kenyon: Gema! We need to find Miranda!

Gema: QUICK! Turn on your TV!

Kenyon: Right… The news?

Gema: Right! This is GLOBAL! We need to find Miranda!

Kenyon: Oh man! This is bad! Rent-A-Zilla is taking over the country!

Gema: Kenyon! Don't be so dense!

Kenyon: Er…sorry?

Gema: We need to meet up! ASAP!

Kenyon: The usual hangout?

Gema: On my way!

Kenyon: Be careful.

Gema has logged out.

Kenyon has logged out.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Gema ran into the empty theater via the alley entrance. She had several near encounters with the Duel Monsters on her jog over, but had been lucky enough to run away from every single one of them. Kenyon was already there, waiting, since he lived the closest. Gema was breathing hard; she slid into the nearest seat of the old theater that wasn't falling apart. Kenyon was sitting on the back of one chair, watching her with a mildly amused expression on his face.

They were the same age at seventeen, while Miranda was one year younger. Kenyon was wearing cargo khaki pants with a chain dangling off the right side. He wore a pale blue T-shirt that commemorated some forgotten school event. It had gotten pinched in his belt, giving him a sort of grunge look. An open, orange tech vest was over that. He had spiky blond hair that was held in place by a blue and orange headband. Though that band failed and several of his spikes flopped around his ears and forehead.

Gema sat, panting for a few moments. Her long blonde hair was matted to her forehead with sweat from her run. She quickly brushed it away. She wore a blue and violet long sleeved shirt patterned to vaguely resemble tie-dye. At the last moment she had thrown on a black hoodie, but hadn't zipped it. She wore a pair of flared jeans with too many pockets. Her running shoes were showing signs of wear.

They chatted casually, but soon enough Gema was trying to convince Kenyon of the seriousness of the situation. It took a fully five minutes for her to convey that Rent-A-Zilla did not exist. After that, he was more ready to believe that there actually was a crisis in progress.

A few minutes later Miranda entered, walking her bicycle in. What everyone first noticed about her was the blood red streaks on her bangs, which covered her right eye. She had to constantly tell people they were naturally that way, contrasting the rest of her brown hair. She wore a denim vest over a short-sleeved black shirt. Several lengths of prayer beads spilled out of one of the pockets. She also wore black stretch pants and dark shoes. Her green eyes took in everything. She wore a dragon pendant and a choker with her zodiac sign, Pisces, on it.

"Miranda! You're okay!" exclaimed Kenyon, standing.

"Yeah," she exhaled, shaking her head. "A Feral Imp burrowed its way into my basement!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!" insisted Miranda. "But the card text is true about it being a 'playful little imp.' I threw a ball at it, and it chased after it like a cat after a catnip mouse. I bailed as fast as I could."

"I'm just glad you're okay!" said Gema. She kicked off her running shoes and put on a pair of Earthshoe sandals she had left at the theater last time they were there.

"So am I. I'm glad we all made it here in one piece," Miranda said, sliding down into a seat next to Gema, sending dust into the air.

"And I thought this was going to be a normal day," muttered Kenyon.

A loud monster bellow eerily close to their hideout caused all three of them to stiffen. Loud, reverberating footsteps could be heard by the main entrance. Something else was slithering in the alleyway. They all exchanged a look, hardly daring to breathe until it was quiet again.

"Geesh! It's been nuts! It's like a monster film or something out there!" exclaimed Gema.

"And nothing is a prop," added Miranda.

"What are we going to do?" asked Gema, biting her low lip.

"Well, they are Duel Monsters right?" asked Kenyon.

"Yes," replied both girls in unison.

"So, what has a connection to Duel Monsters like this?" he asked.

"Industrial Illusions makes the cards and Kaiba Corp. makes the holograms," answered Miranda with a slight sigh.

"We go to Kaiba Corp. Kaiba must know what's going on," suggested Kenyon.

"Seto Kaiba would never never never never do anything like this! Never!" insisted Gema, jumping to her feet.

Kenyon's eyes went wide when he realized his mistake. He meekly raised both hands, palms up to show he meant no harm by it.

"Kenyon, Kaiba Corp. is in Japan. But Pegasus does have an Industrial Illusions building somewhere close by," commented Miranda, after a moment's thought.

"Do we have to leave? It's safe here!" protested Gema.

"Well in that case let's go see Pegasus then," said Kenyon, oblivious to her comment.

"I repeat, do we have to leave? It's safe here."

"I was only pointing out the obvious Kenyon, doesn't Gema have some word in it?" asked Miranda.

Kenyon merely shrugged. A loud bellow from somewhere in the streets outside reverberated through the theater. Gema, still on her feet, looked around for an exit, almost as if she was expecting a monster to come barging in at any moment. Miranda leapt to her feet out of shock. Kenyon merely blinked, as if the full implications of a monster bellow didn't occur to him.

"Really I don't know what we can do as three duelists to do any difference now..." sighed Miranda.

"This is way too bogus... I don't know what to think of it!" exclaimed Gema, half in frustration.

"Big monsters, in the streets," said Kenyon. "What else is there to think about?"

"That's because you **don't** think," sighed Gema. She paused. "But I don't think it's safe here any more."

"Then where can we begin without being nailed by a Reaper of the Cards?" asked Miranda, glancing between the slats of the boarded up windows for danger.

"I second that thought," agreed Gema

"I don't know," answered Kenyon.

"Anyone bring a radio?" asked Gema, perking up

"Does a walkman with AM/FM count as a radio?" asked Kenyon.

"That **is** a radio!" exclaimed Gema.

"Oh…" murmured Kenyon, pulling it out of his pocket. Miranda was shaking her head. He set the radio on a spare seat that was permanently bent down.

"Turn it on quick so we can listen to the news," said Gema.

"Okay," said Kenyon, tuning it.

"Hope it's the right AM station…" muttered Miranda.

"Every stations going to be blaring with news after events like this," Gema pointed out, sitting down again.

"True...except the station I listen too. 98.1 can't even hold a periodic cycle of school closings," Miranda said while the station came in.

They went silent for a few minutes, listening to the various reports that were coming in. Many were from San Francisco, but others were from the east coast, England, Japan, Australia…just about everywhere. Some people suggested it was a massive holographic malfunction, others insisted the monsters were real, and yet others raved of a corporate conspiracy. The latter Gema huffed at very loud and rudely.

"I never foresaw any of this…" muttered Miranda.

"Man… This really is chaotic," said Kenyon, shaking his head.

"Listen, they're broadcasting from Japan!" Gema suddenly explained, leaping up again and walking close to the radio. "Seto Kaiba's denying he had anything to do with this! I knew it!"

"Maybe he's the cause of all of this to happen," commented Kenyon.

"Kenyon!" Miranda tried to warn him, but it was too late.

Gema crossed the gap between him and herself in record time. Her balled up fist connected with the back of his skull. The hit echoed off of the wooden walls. "HE WOULD NOT!" shouted Gema, her blue eyes burning.

"OW!" exclaimed Kenyon, hitting the dust floor hard.

"Personally I'd blame Pegasus before I go blaming Kaiba," commented Miranda.

"Agreed!" snapped Gema, still fuming.

"Hey! You didn't have to hit me so hard… ow..." complained Kenyon, rubbing his hand through his hair, making it messier as he tried to massage the knot out.

"Yes I did or it would never get through your thick skull," replied Gema, flexing her fist.

"Anybody whom has respect for Kaiba would do the same," added Miranda, leaning back in the chair again.

"You just like hitting things too much," whined Kenyon.

"Point?"

"Um... uh…" stammered Kenyon, trying to figure out his point.

Miranda rolled her green eyes at him and walked over to a window. She twisted a graffiti covered board aside and looked into the streets. "It's a parade of Duel Monsters..."

Gema walked over to her and looked over her shoulder. "Yeah...how could this have happened?"

A Curse of Dragon soared over the street, which was now empty of all human life. Below it a Swordstalker swaggered, its sword poised for any threat. Cars lay abandoned in the streets, some still running. One had even run into a light pole. The light was flickering, occasionally showering the street with sparks. Another monster was climbing up the side of the building besides theirs, but because of the angle, they could only see its shadow.

"I don't know," replied Kenyon.

"About the only monster I haven't seen is Divine Dragon Ragnarok. And thank goodness for that," commented Miranda.

"Knock on wood…" murmured Gema.

"Uh...guys? Don't look now but there's one right outside..." said Kenyon, looking out of a window on the other side of the theater. His sea-foam eyes were growing wider and wider as the monster got closer and closer.

"You didn't knock on wood!" exclaimed Gema, her voice jumping up an octave.

"It's outside! And it's coming here! What are we going to do!" exclaimed Kenyon. "Should we leave? Or should we try to fight it with our decks? Personally, I think we should run!" His tone was quickened and on the edge of panic.

"Are you sure we can outrun it?" asked Miranda, nervously.

"Your screaming will only attract it," added Gema.

"Keep it down and he might go away," suggested Miranda, daring to walk to the window to see if Ragnarok was at.

"Agreed," said Gema, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Right…" stammered Kenyon.

"It's getting closer…" said Miranda, tensely, in a very hushed voice.

"We have to fight it!" exclaimed Kenyon. Both girls winced from his shout, glancing outside to see if the dragon had heard them or not. Then, they turned back to Kenyon, giving him the 'yeah, right' look.

"We don't have any duel disks to even make a hologram," Gema pointed out. "And I get the feeling a hologram won't be enough."

"Aw, you guys just don't believe," said Kenyon, now sounding confident. In a few steps he crossed the cinema to the alleyway door and kicked it open, strolling into the streets right up to Divine Dragon Ragnarok.

"Three, two, one..." Miranda counted down.

"AAGHHHHHH!" a loud scream echoed down the alley and into the theater, shaking dust loose. Gema covered her ears from the volume. Kenyon ran back inside, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it, breathing hard. His face was pale and he was sweating, his eyes wide.

"Men..." muttered Gema.

"Way to go!" exclaimed Miranda. "I hope you didn't make it mad!" Her eyes were glued outside, watching Ragnarok's every move.

"You try then..." stated Kenyon, still panting.

"No thanks, I'm smarter than that," replied Gema.

"Girls..." muttered Kenyon.

"Pardon?" asked Miranda, pulling her uncovered eye away from the broken window for a brief moment.

"We've got you outnumbered boy," retorted Gema

"Um... uh... nothing… stammered Kenyon.

Divine Dragon Ragnarok had floated even closer, and was now coiling its long body around the front half of the theater. Dry rot started to speckle the sidewalk below as beams breaking reverberated through the entire cinema. It groaned, threatening to collapse. Dust particles made the air hazy.

"Good, now about the dragon whose interested on our hangout..." asked Miranda.

"I'm not going outside again! I learned my lesson!" Kenyon instantly insisted.

"You learned something?" asked Miranda in disbelief.

"Out the backdoor?" suggested Gema.

"Good idea," agreed Miranda.

"Ditto," said Kenyon.

"Just don't scream again Ken," added Miranda.

"HEY!" protested Kenyon. "It wasn't a scream! It was…"

"Come on, let's go," said Gema, cutting him off while he was searching for an excuse. She cracked the back door open careful. She knew it creaked.

"The coast is clear."

"Good," Miranda breathed a sign of relief.

"Hmm...I wonder what all of this means for our decks..." wondered Gema, softly

They slipped behind the theaters, carefully weaving around the dumpsters and trash cans, so not to upset one and give away their location. It wasn't easy, the chaos of the day had added to the obstacles that they needed to avoid.

"Yeah...it didn't seem like any of our monsters were in this mess," commented Miranda, after a moment's thought.

Gema pulled out her deck out of one of her many pockets and began to flip through them, keeping one eye on the ground to watch her step. "Well, the pictures haven't changed any...but what does that all mean…?"

"Think there's a logical explanation?" asked Kenyon.

"We've left logical in the dust…" muttered Gema, her eyes still on her cards.

"Nothing is logical if a game comes to life," added Miranda. "But if life becomes game, that's a different story…"

"Huh? I don't get it," replied Kenyon.

"Don't worry. Let's just try not to get eaten or stepped on," commented Gema, half-paying attention.

"My guess is Industrial Illusions," said Miranda. "Nothing of that company popped up in the news."

"It does sound suspicious..." agreed Gema, pocketing her deck again. "Let's go!"

"If we're lucky and the media doesn't catch up to that point, we might have a shot to speak to Pegasus personally," added Miranda, hopefully.

"Off we go to Industrial Illusions!" chimed Kenyon, hurrying forward.

"Lets hope we don't meet any nasty monsters on the way," muttered Gema, anxiously.

"Ditto…" agreed Miranda.

-x-x-x-x-x-

A half an hour later they made it to Industrial Illusions on foot. They stood outside, looking up at the massive skyscraper that was in the middle of nowhere. A few cars rested in the parking lot, but it was completely still. No one else, especially the news media, had made it there yet. The sun was still shining brightly, which seemed overly ironic for the day.

"How'd we manage to go through half the city in one piece?" asked Miranda, in the low in the conversation.

"By seeming small and insignificant?" asked Gema.

"Because we ran?" asked Kenyon.

Miranda looked up at the unusual rectangular building a bit proudly. "Sometimes I have to like it when I'm right. This place is completely empty at the doors."

"Curiouser and curiouser...and not in a good way," commented Gema as they approached the entrance, constantly looking over their shoulders.

"It sure looks deserted..." said Kenyon, glancing through the rows of glass doors and panels and seeing no one. They reached the front doors and looked in, but it was completely empty.

"So who wants to check it out first?" asked Miranda.

"Rock, paper, scissors, odd one out gets to?" suggested Gema.

"Aw no… I'm not playing that game," protested Kenyon. "Somehow you two always team up against me when we do."

Miranda groaned, realizing how her last statement sounded. "Aw man, I'm beginning to sound like the coward."

"That means you're going in?" asked Gema.

"None of us are going in if we keep standing out here."

"Good point... I'll go in if you will."

"Of course I'm going, can't exactly get any farther by staying right here," stated Miranda, pushing against the glass doors. They opened easily under her touch.

The three friends stepped into the lobby area, their shoes tapping across the tile was the only noise heard. The lobby was entirely empty. It was a vast, open space, without a fountain, statute, or potted plant. The large marble reception desk was against the right hand wall, but no one was behind it. A few blue doors were set in the walls. A glass elevator and a stairwell were clearly seen as well. The lobby had a high ceiling, meaning there was a balcony on the second floor which looked down on it. The lights were all out. The silence and the emptiness and the darkness were creating an ominous atmosphere.

"Aw crud... This place is sort of spooky!" complained Kenyon, glancing back the way they came. He then shook his head. "Well, at least Rent-A-Zilla isn't here yet."

"It's just an office building," shrugged Gema.

"…and the doors were unlocked. This isn't right," commented Miranda, turning in a slow circle in hopes of finding some sort of clue or explanation. "I have a bad feeling about this place..."

"Right..." agreed Gema, looking into the shadows.

Miranda shook her head. "All right, focus. Now to find Pegasus's office or one of his suits."

"Man… This place is really big," said Kenyon. "Where are we going to find one guy?"

"Try the office directory?" suggested Gema.

"I would if it was standing out like at the mall," replied Miranda. Her green eye caught something tacked onto the wall. "Map..."

"Perfect, Pegasus is top floor, right?" asked Gema as Miranda walked over to examine it.

Miranda scanned it for a moment, comparing names to numbers and numbers to locations. "Yep, nine stories up."

"Um… You guys sure? What if they get mad about us being here?" stammered Kenyon, backing up so that he was in the light spilling from the glass doors. Gema rolled her eyes at him.

"The doors were wide open," Gema pointed out.

"Right? With the doors unlocked, anybody can come in here," explained Miranda, coyly. "Even the Duel Monsters,"

"She's got a point," commented Gema, checking the room number for herself.

"Um... in that case let's go up," resigned Kenyon.

"I doubt the elevators work," sighed Gema.

"Not as long as the power is out," said Miranda.

"I hope we don't get stuck in here," murmured Kenyon. "I've seen too many shows where people get stuck in elevators for hours."

Gema suddenly stiffened, her eyes flickering around them, her nerves on high alert. "I just had this weird feeling like we were being watched."

"That could be a possibility. There might be cameras if they're on back-up power," commented Miranda, casually.

Kenyon started breathing deeply, imitating Darth Vader. "It's the dark side of the force...Luke... I am your father..." He then chuckled at his own joke.

"Really?" asked Miranda, sarcastically.

"Not that kind of watched...like there's actually someone else here," said Gema, slowly, still looking into the shadows.

"I was only joking," said Kenyon, looking down and rubbing his shoe on the ground at the lack of enthusiasm at his own joke.

"I know you were, it's just that this isn't a time to joke," commented Miranda, lowering her hand.

"Not joke time…" murmured Gema, hardly paying any attention to them.

"Hey look… there's a camera …" noticed Kenyon, pointing to the security device attached to the corner of the ceiling. "Looks like Miranda is right."

"It's not the cameras that bother me…" muttered Gema.

"I'm definitely getting that feeling too but I see no one," agreed Miranda.

"It's like something's about to happen… like in the movies," commented Kenyon. "We need some cool background music about now."

Gema and Miranda both sweat-dropped, sharing looks of disbelief.

"Again with your parodies. I swear I'm going to," started Miranda. But she suddenly stopped, her visible eye sweeping up to the balcony.

"Crap! I hate being right like this," complained Gema.

"I hate to agree with you," added Kenyon. "This is where the music picks up."

"I suggest we just keep moving. Probably taking the stairs will be easier," said Miranda, walking towards them.

"Right…"

"Just try not to look at the balcony," said Gema.

"Right..."

"I'll take to the stairs first if one of you don't mind?" said Miranda, pushing the door to the stairs open.

"Go ahead, I'm going to see if I can catch a glance in my pocket mirror," said Gema, pulling it out of a pocket. She opened it, adjusting the angle. One side was a mirror, the other held a picture of a blue-eyed duelist.

"This is no time for a makeover, Gema," commented Kenyon, sweat-dropping.

Gema sweat-dropped right back. "I'm using the mirror to look behind me, so the people on the balcony don't know I'm trying to see who they are."

"Kenyon, don't be that dense," said Miranda. She put a foot on the first stair and started moving up the curling staircase, trying not to make any noise.

"I'm not that dense…" said Kenyon, with a pout of protest.

"I can see three people, but they're too far into the shadows to tell anything else," said Gema, still outside the stairwell.

"Oh brother…" grumbled Kenyon, following behind Miranda.

"What floor again?" asked Miranda.

"Ninth," answered Gema, bringing up the rear.

Miranda reached the landing to the second floor. The stairs went up no further. They would have to enter the second floor and find a new flight of stairs to get to the office. She pushed the door open, only to meet some resistance when it reached about a foot open.

Miranda was still talking during this. "I know. An empty building so far with only three people, there's bound to be—Ahhh!"

"Miranda!" exclaimed Gema

"Are you okay!" asked Kenyon, hurrying to the second floor.

"I can see why we didn't see any of Pegasus's bodyguards. They're right here. All unconscious!" exclaimed Miranda.

The second floor was littered with several unmoving forms. They were all breathing, Miranda made sure to check. But they would not wake up, no matter what was done. One had fallen against the door, which was why Miranda had a hard time opening it. There were no signs of a struggle. This only added to the bizarreness of the day.

"What!" exclaimed Gema, emerging from the stairs.

"No… way…" gaped Kenyon in total disbelief.

"I'm not joking, but none of them looked like they were taken out by a blow to the head or anything…" Miranda said, checking on another one.

"Freaky factor is a 10," muttered Gema, trying to shake one of them awake.

"More like a 12," said Kenyon, tiptoeing around a body.

"Those three you saw in the shadows must have something to do with it. I hope they didn't get to Pegasus," commented Miranda, again glancing around.

Gema's eyes suddenly went very wide and she inhaled a huge amount of air. "We're on the second floor, aren't we?" she asked, the horror slowly dawning.

"Yes…" said Miranda, slowly, urging her to say more.

"Those strangers were on the second...the powers out, no elevators... meaning we're in the only way up or down in this building," explained Gema, still horrified.

"What's your point, Gema?" asked Kenyon, with less anxiety than he should have had.

"We're stuck on the same floor as three unknown and probably very dangerous people and the only way they have to leave this floor is past us!" exclaimed Gema in a hushed but passionate voice.

"Too late to turn back," said Miranda. "I've got some good guesses about what's going to happen and none of them are good."

"Crap...well, we have no choice but to keep moving…" moaned Gema.

"But we're safe here," protested Kenyon. "No monsters, no one else…"

Miranda edged her way around the unconscious guards, doing her best not to step on any of them. She was aiming for the wall, where she could walk without tripping and where she might find another stairwell to the upper levels. "Not even evidence to a can of knock-out gas. How could have this happened?" she muttered to herself.

"No idea," commented Gema, trying to catch up with her.

SLAM! The loud noise shook the ground and the walls. A three turned around. The door to the stairs they had all left had slammed shut. The unmistakable clinking noise that followed let all of them know they were now locked on the floor with no way back the way the came.

Miranda gulped, trying to control the shaking in her hands. "Told you we can't turn back…"

Kenyon ran back, carefully leaping over the guards. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled, but it would not budge. "Oh no! The door is jammed! We're stuck! How could this have happened!"

Gema whirled around, searching the shadows for any slightest sign of a threat. "Who's here!" she demanded, loudly.

"You think they'll answer to us?" asked Miranda in disbelief. "If they want to play hide-and-seek, looks like we're It."

"Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap," Gema started to chant under her breath, her nerves on edge as she looked for a threat that she half suspected might only be in her mind.

"Come on, open, open," Kenyon said to the door as he tried to pull the door open. He pulled so hard that the doorknob snapped off in his hands. He was sent sprawling backward, right across one of the bodies of the guards. He instantly leapt to his feet with a half disgusted, half freaked out look on his face.

Miranda leaned against the wall, trying to calm herself down so she could think rationally. She started sizing up the situation. "The power's out and the stairwell's close on us..."

"We can't get down and neither can they! It means were trapped here with who knows who!" exclaimed Gema, fighting the urge to give into complete panic.

"So the suggestion is to keep going up, even if the stairwell is closed off?" asked Miranda, having decided it was their only option.

"Cheap door," muttered Kenyon, tossing the doorknob into the darkness.

It hit the wall with a metal ping, then went rolling through the shadows. The sound of the metal rolling stopped unnaturally fast. A shuffling noise was then heard not far down the hall from where they were. The three friends stiffened up straight and turned, six of eyes peering into the darkness for the enemy they all imagined was there. They got the impression that someone had stepped on the doorknob, which is why it fell silent so quickly.

Repeated heavy thuds could be heard getting closer, which they placed as boots on the thick carpet. They shared a brief glance, before scanning for the cause of the noise again. The shadows, however, hid everything from them. It made it that much easier to imagine something dark and sinister approaching them.

"If it's them, here they come," said Miranda, pulling out her prayer beads and looping them around her fingers. Gema nodded, taking a fighting stance with her fists raised.

"Aw crud," sighed Kenyon, reluctantly raising a fist.


	2. Dangers in the Shadows

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Well, what do we have here, mates? Intruders?" asked one of the strangers with a thick Australian accent. The three figures remained shrouded in the shadows, not coming any closer to the three friends. That made it impossible to make out any more but the most general physical features about them.

The speaker was the shortest of the three. His hair was spiked up. Round bulges from what looked like armor stuck out from his silhouette. Besides him the largest of the strange trio stood. To the three friends, he appeared to be a body builder, with massive muscles outlining his shadow. The last was thinner, with a slightly feminine build. He was leaning against the wall and wearing either a cape or a full-length jacket, though it was hard to tell in the virtually non-existent light.

"Definitely not the faces we were expecting," commented the one leaning against the wall.

"Who are you?" asked Gema, warily. She could tell that she, Miranda, and Kenyon would be no match if the strangers turned out to be aggressive. So, she was glancing around, looking for an escape and trying not to provoke them.

"Come on out, this isn't hide-and-seek," said Kenyon. "Or is it? If it is, I didn't know we were playing…hey, did anyone count to thirty?" Gema and Miranda let out an exasperated sigh and rolled their eyes.

"Would it matter to tell you who we are?" asked the one against the wall, snidely. "As far as we know, you're doomed to lose your souls."

"W-w-what?" stammered Gema, half from thinking she misheard, half from disbelief.

"Maybe this is like Catch Me If You Can," suggested Kenyon. "You know, where that one guy is chasing the guy who kept faking the checks."

"Kenyon…not now…" grumbled Gema

"Lose our souls! What do you mean by that!" exclaimed Miranda to the strangers, her hands tightening into fists around her prayer beads. Her mind frantically searched everything she had learned growing up in a temple for any meaning behind the threat, but nothing came to her. Her mind seemed to be constricted.

"You will find out soon enough..." said the tallest one, this being the first time they heard him speak. He seemed preoccupied, and kept glancing at the entrance floor beyond the balcony.

"They're feisty," chuckled the one with the Australian accent. "This could be amusin'."

"It was an amusing movie, I like the part where the guy pretends to be a pilot and has all the high school girls be flight attendants," replied Kenyon, friendly.

"It is **not** amusing Kenyon," grumbled Miranda, still holding her pose with her prayer beads ready.

"But I really did like that scene…" pouted Kenyon.

"W-what do we do? We're cornered," Gema asked her friends in a low voice. She kept looking over her shoulder at the door to the stairwell, which was still closed tight.

"Um…hmm…well in the movie Frank pretended to be an CIA agent to get away from the FBI guy…maybe we could do that," suggested Kenyon.

Miranda and Gema exchange a look behind his back, rolling their eyes. They both knew they needed to do something better than that, and quick. All three had the sense that time was running for them.

"What do you three want with us!" Gema demanded, trying to stall for time.

The Australian glanced over his shoulder and the three exchanged a knowing nod. Kenyon, Miranda, and Gema knew the strangers were plotting something, and something bad at that.

"We challenge you three to a duel," stated the muscular guy, in a perfectly calm if not bored tone.

"And the losers lose their souls," added the one leaning against the wall in a dead serious tone.

"What!" exclaimed Gema, again half confused, half disbelieving.

"Again with this soul thing," said Miranda, semi-annoyed. "I don't believe how anyone can have their soul isolated from their bodies unless they were…" She trailed off. Her uncovered eye wandered back behind her, looking at all the guards who were sprawled unconscious across the floor.

"Miranda...?" asked Gema, slowly. She had learned to trust her friend's instincts when it came to the paranormal.

"...about to die. Okay now I'm ticked!" Miranda finished, her prayer beads clanking together menacingly.

"Hey, Miranda, what gives?" asked Kenyon.

Gema glanced at how tense Miranda was, and then at the figures in the shadows, trying to be careful not to look back at the guards in case the strangers tried to jump her from behind. She still had many questions buzzing around her head, all of which she was desperately trying to make sense of. "The three of you can at least tell us who you are if you're going to duel us."

"Like we're going to tell you three," retorted the Australian. He looked Gema over. "You're a feisty one, and good looking too." Gema pursed her lips together, locked her jaw, and glared angrily at him.

"Shut it Valon! We're here to steal souls, not find girlfriends," snapped the one against the wall.

"Aw, you're no fun," complained the Australian.

"Well that's one name," whispered Miranda.

"Can you curse them if you know their names? Like Megumi from Fruits Basket!" asked Kenyon, hopefully. Miranda sighed and shook her head.

"Enough talking," said the tallest. "Are we going to duel or not?" He sounded a bit ticked, probably from impatience.

"Right…" murmured Gema, glancing down the balcony on her right to the first floor. "A two story jump doesn't sound so bad any more..."

"I agree whole-heartedly..." said Miranda with a faint nod, adjusting her prayer beads in her hands.

"That seems a bit much…" said Kenyon.

"Kenyon! These people are dangerous!" hissed Gema.

Kenyon's off-green eyes went wide in a twisted sort of enlightenment. Gema and Miranda looked slightly relieved that they had finally conveyed the grimness of the situation to him. "I get it! They're with those Rent-A-Zilla people!" The two girls face-faulted.

While they were talking, the Australian, now named Valon, stepped between them and the edge of the balcony, fists ready. Sunlight streaming in from the windows below still covered his face in shadows, making it impossible for the three friends to yet get a good look at him. "You're goin' nowhere."

"Hey, we're on to you," accused Kenyon. "We know all about Rent-A-Zilla and your plans!" It was silent from both sides for a full minute.

"Kenyon…" groaned Miranda.

Valon started laughing in disbelief at Kenyon, which only puzzled the blond further.

The speaker against the wall stood up, letting out an exasperated sigh from his companion's actions. He stepped closer to Miranda, Gema, and Kenyon, but was careful enough to stay in the shadows. "We've wasted enough time stalling. Time to duel," he said, almost as if it was a law.

"Duel? Since when did Rent-A-Zilla duel?" asked Kenyon.

"There is no Rent-A-Zilla!" snapped Miranda.

"Huh?"

"Er...um...how will this work?" stammered Gema, desperately trying to find some way to delay the challenge. "One on one three times? Three on three? Ban list? Time limit? Battle City rules or Duelist Kingdom?"

Miranda glanced over at her in disbelief. "Why the fuss?"

"Stalling," answered Gema, through her teeth so only Miranda could hear her.

"Well, I'd duel you, but it doesn't look like you even have a duel disk," stated the feminine one, arrogantly. He raised his left hand, revealing a large circular object connected to his wrist. A long blade suddenly shot sideways out of it, clicking into place. It took a moment for the three friends to recognize the duel squares on the blade. It was a duel disk in a style they had never seen before.

"What do you expect!" snapped Gema. "They were only released to people in that Japanese tournament!"

"Those don't even look like the tournament duel disks," commented Miranda, peering into the darkness for a closer look.

"They really do have duel disks," murmured Kenyon. He perked up. "That's kinda cool. But how are we going to duel them without duel disks?"

"Er...tabletop?" suggested Gema, uncertainly. But her mind was whirling with other concerns. _"I promised myself I wouldn't duel again until I could control myself! Why, oh why, did I ever agree to this freak duel in the first place! It's going to make me sick, I know it!"_

"I suppose it's that or nothing," replied Miranda, slowly.

"It definitely a plot-hole," agreed Kenyon. _"There's a conspiracy here and I know it! Rent-A-Zilla in combination with duel disks, to team up with Barry White and the CIA to get the philosopher's stone! I'm going to be famous when I let the world know what's going on!"_

"Aww, they're wussin' out on us," said Valon, sarcastically and provokingly.

"There will be a duel. Mai managed to pick up a few duel disks from Kaiba Corp. for such an emergency," stated the muscular one, crossing his arms as if he was daring them to come up with another excuse not to duel.

"She did? Isn't that stealing!" exclaimed Gema, slowly realizing how deep the hole of trouble they were in was becoming.

"So much for stalling..." sighed Miranda under her breath.

"The background music was fading anyways," shrugged Kenyon.

"Wait..." said Gema, a new idea dawning on her. "How do we know that if we duel, our monster won't become real like all over the city?"

"Don't worry," chuckled Valon. "When we duel, the monsters are real. There is no 'if they become real'."

"_There's definitely strange energies flowing from these three,"_ thought Miranda. _"The only way we can figure out what those energies are is by dueling them. As temple priestess, it is my duty to unravel the mystery of the aura surrounding these people."_

"…I'll accept a duel," said Miranda, taking a deep breath. She looped her prayer beads around her wrist and pulled her deck out of a secondary pocket on her vest. "Not like we have had a choice to begin with…"

"Fine," resigned Gema. "And if we win, you have to answer all our questions!"

"Sounds like fun," said Kenyon, casually.

"Doubt it," said the closest one, with the same arrogant tone. "But we'll **make** it interesting and have three separate one-on-one duels."

"Right," agreed Valon with one solid nod. He eyed Gema up again. "I'll take the blonde."

"I'll take on the young punk there," said the muscular one.

"Then that leaves me with the dumb one, right?" sighed the last.

"Whatev," shrugged Valon, rubbing his fingers over his deck in his circular duel disk. "Let's duel and take their souls to the boss!"

"Fine by me," answered Miranda with gritted teeth and a locked jaw. Her one eye started to glimmer with determination. "Who's first to duel?"

"I'll go first! I want to know about the philosopher's stone!" volunteered Kenyon.

"The what!" Miranda sweat-dropped massively, and just about crashed to the ground from surprise.

"Kenyon, sometimes even I envy your fantasy world," remarked Gema.

"Hey! No one calls me a punk and gets away with it!" retorted Kenyon, peering back into the shadows.

"We were referring to girl there," he replied, gesturing to Miranda, who glared at him.

"You're the dumb one," sneered the closest one. "I'll be your opponent."

Kenyon stood there for a moment, not saying anything. When he finally spoke it sounded like he was talking to himself. "I'm not dumb…"

"So, I'm the punk as you refer me?" asked Miranda, sarcastically while managing to sound pseudo-hurt.

"Crushing you will be easy enough," said the feminine one to Kenyon.

Gema cut Kenyon off before he could reply. "You three had better keep your word when we win." She tried to sound as optimistic as she could in these circumstances.

"Yeah! What she said!" exclaimed Kenyon.

The muscular man stepped further back into the shadows, just into a dark square on the wall which was either a hallway or a doorway. He wasn't gone too far into that shadow, the three friends could still see one of his legs. A few seconds later, he kicked out a rectangular box to his partner, who stopped it with his boot like it was a soccer ball.

"Enough stalling," he said, sizing Kenyon up. He kicked the box to Kenyon's feet. "Here's your duel disk."

Gema couldn't help but whistle as the box slid into the narrow stream of light. She instantly recognized it from her extensive studies as one of the official duel disks handed out for the Battle City tournament. "Wow, it's nice! Unopened too! I heard Seto Kaiba programmed them himself!" She clasped both hands together, her blue eyes slowly becoming starry-eyed.

Kenyon bent down and picked it up, shredding the packaging and pulling out the compact holographic system. "Whoa! Not too shabby…" He clasped it onto his left wrist, slowly running a finger along the steel surface.

Miranda sighed, both from the way her friends let their guard down because of the device and from the duel disk itself. "But it looks like it equips to the left arm for right-handed duelists." She sighed. "Why hasn't someone come up with disks for the lefties?"

"I don't know...maybe they exist..." said Gema, peering over Kenyon's shoulder to examine the duel disk on his arm. Valon and his partners were exchanging small looks of disbelief because of the three friends' actions.

"This duel begins now," said the one who already activated his unusual duel disk. He took a step toward Kenyon, though his face was still shrouded in darkness. 4000 flashed in green briefly on top of his duel disk, making the shadows around him stretch and bend unpleasantly.

"He's all yours Miranda," murmured Kenyon, still examining every inch of the duel disk on his arm with a near reverie. Gema was in a similar mental state, nearly drooling over the item her hero had designed.

Miranda stared at them both in disbelief for a moment, jaw dropped, too stunned to speak before her words exploded out of her. "You BAKA! You're his opponent!"

"Oh…hehehe…I forgot," chuckled Kenyon, slightly embarrassed, sweat-dropping at his own mistake.

"He ain't for real, is he?" asked Valon, who only then had managed to pick his jaw up off of the floor.

"I don't think so," answered the tallest one. He snorted. "These duels are going to be easier than we thought."

"Would the boss really want his soul?" asked Kenyon's opponent, glancing at his two partners.

"Hrmph, I'm on to you and the whole Rent-A-Zilla conspiracy," countered Kenyon. "And you have to spill the beans when I win. Let's duel!"

"You can't just take someone's soul! It's intangible!" protested Gema, about to launch a whole speech on her beliefs.

"Sorry but that's the way things goes," said the muscular one, cutting her off.

Kenyon's opponent chuckled. "I have the card that will take his soul and yours," he said, arrogantly, eying them up, waiting for their responses.

"A...card?" asked Gema. She had been trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together, but the mystery kept getting more complicated. And now this talk of soul-stealing through a card totally confounded her.

"Kind of hard to believe but hey, Kenyon's hard to believe too," shrugged Miranda. She had seen some highly unusual things working in a temple, and a soul-stealing card would only add to that menagerie.

"Hey!" protested Kenyon. "I might be hard to believe but…what was that other part?" The girls once more massively face faulted.

"Are you going to make the first move or should I?" asked his opponent, impatiently tapping a boot-covered foot.

"Ladies first, as they say," answered Kenyon, smirking across the shadows at his opponent. His duel disk swung around his arm, activating. 4000 flashed in red briefly.

"He's got a point with that one," Gema said, laughing. She clapped a few times.

Miranda chuckled. "Yeah, even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

Not far from them, Valon started to make noises that sounded like a half-cough, half-gag. Miranda and Gema exchanged a confused look, then looked back. They chuckled again when they realized those noises were Valon trying to choke down laughter.

"Valon!" snapped Kenyon's opponent.

"Sorry mate," chuckled Valon, biting his knuckle to stop chortling.

Kenyon's opponent's eyes swept back across the field, glaring at Kenyon viciously. "Oh you'll pay for that."

He placed a hand on top of his deck to draw his first hand. But a new noise stopped all six of them. A bike revved into the entrance floor, right through a large set of open doors under the balcony, thus out of view. The biker skidded to a stop in the middle of the reception area, leaving two long, dark skid marks across the white tile. The rider was definitely female, with blonde hair as long as Gema's streaming down her back, though hers had a slight curl to it, unlike Gema. Her face was still hidden under a bike helmet with a Plexiglas visor.

"Sounds like the harpy queen's arrived," commented Valon, smirking contently as he glanced at the rider below. His tone made it sound like a trump card had just been pulled.


	3. The Seal of Orichalcos

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

AN/ I have been harassed and threatened about this fic by its ex-co-author (more info in bio). He wants me to stop writing it. Well, here's my response to that, an update!

The lights throughout the building suddenly turned on in the same moment. The three friends had to shield their eyes from the sudden light. They squinted a few times. With the lights on, their entire perspective of the company headquarters had changed. The dangers didn't seem so looming, though they were still present. Behind them were still the bodies of the bulk of Pegasus's security force. And the door was still locked, leaving them on the same floor as the hostile strangers. This, however, proved to be an opportunity for them to finally see the faces of their opponents.

Kenyon's opponent had red hair, that curled around his face, making him look even more feminine. A pendant with a venom-green stone dangled from his neck. He wore a violet, tight-fitting exercise shirt that was the same color as his eyes. His pants were black, army style and he also were a heavy pair of army boots. A dark, slightly oversized trench coat with belts attached everywhere finished the outfit. Attached to his arm was the unusual duel disk, which Miranda was peering at. The part above the long biking gloves was circular, with many strange symbols carved around the outer edge, though the middle was still set up like Kaiba's duel disks, with the graveyard and deck slots in relatively the same places. By the hand was a crest shape, where the field magic cards slot was hidden. The rest of the disk extended like a blade from that part, with the spaces for monster and spell cards clearly marked out. The entire thing was a dark shade of green with lighter green highlights.

Valon, the only name the friends knew, was casually leaning against the glass railing, watching the newcomer on the first floor out of the corner of his blue eyes. He had spiky brown hair that was held in place by a pair of goggles. He wore a red shirt, shoulder and elbow pads, as well as biker gloves. His pants were black leather and his buckle-up boots were knee high. A green stone ring was around his right ring finger. He also wore one of the unusual duel disks on his left arm, though this one was inactive and locked into the circular part on his arm. He was watching everything that was happening, looking more than slightly amused.

The last one was leaning against a pillar not far behind the first. He seemed to be even more massive in the light, with a body-builder's physique. He looked bored, with his arms crossed, thus revealing his inactive duel disk attached over his gloves. He wore a black tank top that was doing all it could to conceal his muscles. He wore cargo-style navy pants and dark hiking boots. Gema swore she caught a glimpse of the hilt of a knife sticking out of one. He also wore a large, navy trench coat with belts attached at the most unconventional places. He kept his blond hair short, though it was slightly spiked. He also had two very long sideburns which extended down past his cheeks and several inches away from his face. Like his companions, he had a pendant with a green stone set by a skull around his neck.

The friends had just taken this in when the doors on the first floor were opened and several more people ran in. The first was a lanky blond in jeans and a t-shirt, wearing a denim jacket. Not far behind him was a brunette with a massively spiked bang. He wore mostly brown, except for his white shirt. A girl with brown hair was with the guys. She wore a pink shirt and skirt, with a white jacket over her outfit. The last newcomer didn't need much for the friends to recognize him. His short stature and tri-colored spiky hair was world famous.

"Guys! Look!" exclaimed Gema in a hushed tone, poking Miranda in the side. Miranda allowed her eye to flit over to the new arrivals, and then hid a gasp.

"Huh? What is it Gema?" asked Kenyon, looking around confused.

"Hey Mai! Good work! You got 'em all here," called Valon to the biker below.

"Nice, another one..." Miranda murmured to herself.

"Mai!" gasped the first to enter.

The female biker had taken off her helmet, letting her blonde curls cascade freely down her shoulders. The four who had just entered gasped, fully recognizing her.

"Wait…wait…" said Gema, closing her eyes to think. "I know I've seen those faces before in Duelist Weekly…"

"You know them?" asked Kenyon, who was still toying with his new duel disk on his arm, still adjusting to its weight.

"Mai…Mai Valentine," said Gema, slowly. "That's her name. She runs a Harpy deck…And…let me think…" She paused again.

"You really do know everything going on in the duel world, don't you?" asked Miranda.

"I try…" Gema replied. "Oh! Joseph Wheeler is the blond guy…though I could never figure out his strategy, unless it was sheer luck…And I hope I don't need to tell you guys who the short kid is."

"Yu-Gi Motou, as anyone knows," replied Miranda.

"Yu-Gi who?" asked Kenyon.

Miranda once more sweat-dropped enormously. From a hidden pocket in her vest she pulled out a small but dense bell. In the same instant she swung it around by the ribbon tied to it, nailing Kenyon on the head with a low 'gong' noise echoing off the walls. Kenyon's head jerked to the side from the force of the impact. The three opponents watched, dumbfounded, as Miranda calmly re-pocketed her temple bell.

"Kenyon! Don't be that dense!" she scolded.

"Er…sorry?" muttered Kenyon. He was slightly cross-eyed as he massaged the knot out of his spikes.

On the floor below, Mai and the duelist group were bantering back and forth, caught up in their own argument. A few times their eyes strayed to those on the balcony, but they were too caught up in their own problems to do more than afford them a few minutes.

The red head looked around for a moment, then deactivated his duel disk, causing it to once more compact itself. "Hrmph, looks like you three got off." Kenyon looked at him, thoroughly perplexed, but the Australian cut him off.

"Well, now what should we do with 'em? I sure don't want to miss the fun between the harpy queen and the dueling dog," commented Valon, casually.

"I'm going to report back to the boss. He'll want to hear about these three here," replied the red head. He then turned and walked back the way they came without even a glance back.

"Good idea, Amelda," replied the last one, apathetically.

(AN/ I use Alister's Japanese name, for a few reasons; I hate the name 'Alister', I'm used to using 'Amelda', and in general I hate what the American version did to his character.)

"One more down…" murmured Miranda.

"Hey! Wait!" Gema protested to the retreating figure. "We want answers!"

"We didn't even duel, the deal's off," Amelda replied, and with that he was gone.

"I'll give ya a hint," chuckled Valon. "You can call us soul collectors."

"Again with the soul stuff. I believe in Zodiacs, not disembodiment," glowered Miranda.

"You're on the wrong sides of beliefs, then," laughed Valon.

"Hey guys! Look!" exclaimed a voice from the first floor. The speaker was the brunette guy. "There's more of those bikers!" He pointed up into the balcony, right at the five standing up there still. Miranda, Kenyon, and Gema started in alarm.

"I don't remember seeing those three before, though," commented the only girl.

"They must be working with them then, Tristan," said Joe, who was still in front, arguing with Mai.

"Whoa! Hold the reel! We're the good guys!" protested Kenyon, holding his hands up.

"Right, right," Miranda quickly agreed. "We were just here at the wrong place, wrong time." She chuckled nervously and lowered her tone a bit. "Talk about our luck…"

"We have luck?" asked Kenyon.

"Um…guys…" asked the girl, warily. "Should we be bothered by the fact that were the only ones here?"

Miranda and Gema caught the slight movement out of the corner of their eyes. The unnamed man had reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote with a single button on it.

"It's a trap!" shouted Gema the same moment he pressed the button.

But her warning was way too late. With a sudden grating noise, every security grid above the glass doors slid shut and clicked into place.

"We're locked in!" exclaimed Tristan as he ran back to the doors and futilely tried to pull the grate up.

"Out of the frying pan…" groaned Miranda.

"Man, talk about a tempo change," commented Kenyon. "The BGM just did a 180. You know this is going to be good."

"Kenyon!" snapped both girls.

"What?" he asked, innocently without faking innocence.

"Aww, lighten up, we get to watch the dog and the harpy queen duel," replied Valon, turning around so he could watch the beginning of the duel below.

"Mai! You don't have to do this!" Joe continued to plead. "You're are friend!" He fingered his deck in his activated Battle City duel disk nervously.

"Save it!" snapped Mai, already drawing her first hand. Her Battle City duel disk had been replaced by one of the green ones the other trio was wearing.

"Hey, do you hear that?" asked Kenyon.

"Hear what?" asked Miranda, slightly exasperated.

"That girl's image song," he said, pointing to Mai. "She's with them!" He pointed to the remaining guys on the second floor.

"…You can tell that by the duel disk she has, Kenyon," sweat-dropped Gema.

"I'll start this duel with this!" exclaimed Mai, popping open her field magic card slot. "I play the Seal of Orichalcos!" She slid the card into place.

"Mai! No!" protested those on the ground floor.

"The Seal of what?" asked Gema. "I've never heard of that card before."

"A card that steals souls…was that what Amelda was talking about…?" Miranda wondered, keeping her voice low and to herself.

A green light was emitted from the symbol engraved on Mai's duel disk. The circle of symbols started in the air, directly above the middle of the duel field. It then enlarged and sunk, until it circled around the two duelists. An odd six pointed star was drawn on the inside of the circle, locking it in place. Now, both Mai and Joe was standing in the middle of the glowing green circle; the same color green as the stones the opponents all wore. Even more eerie was the identical symbol now glowing on Mai's forehead. Her violet eyes pulsed red slightly.

"Mai…" called Joe. Yu-Gi and those with him looked equally shocked and horrified.

Valon, however, was laughing again. "This is too rich!"

Kenyon chuckled too, though he wasn't fully sure why. "I like that guy."

"Kenyon!" exclaimed the girls.

"What? He has a sense of humor, he can't be all bad," answered Kenyon. Miranda started to tug on the ribbon for her temple bell. "Er…sorry, sorry." Kenyon meekly held up his hands. Miranda sighed and returned the ribbon.

Kenyon walked back then and joined Gema and Miranda by the second pillar. Valon and his companion were by the first, and all of them were watching what was going on on the ground floor. The three friends were considerably tenser, and kept warily glancing to the two guys opposite of them, as if expecting an attack to come at any moment.

"Joe! If either of you loses this duel you'll lose your soul!" called Yu-Gi.

"That's the card!" exclaimed Miranda. Horror and curiosity merged, and she found herself leaning forward, trying to examine the field magic card even more closely.

"It's time for you to pay up for abandoning me, Wheeler," growled Mai, placing her first cards on her duel disk.

"Come to your senses Mai!" pleaded Joe.

"It's that Orichalcos thing, isn't it?" asked the girl standing behind him. "That's what's twisting Mai into thinking she's our enemy…"

"Right, Téa," said Yu-Gi. "And she's risking her own life to do so."

"Stop mumbling down there," Valon called to the bystanders. "You know you can't destroy the seal with the magic of your pathetic Millennial Puzzle!"

"Magic?" asked Gema.

"Millennial Puzzle…what is going on here?" asked Miranda. "This aura I'm sensing…I'm feeling some seriously bad vibes coming from that card…"

"Sure it's not the vibrato from background music?" asked Kenyon, casually. The full sense of the dangers had not yet dawned on him. Both Miranda and Gema ignored his comment.

"That Mai is too headstrong," muttered the still unnamed man. "She's not following the boss's orders."

"_So there's a boss…"_ noted Miranda.

"Aw, let her have her fun, Raphael," replied Valon. "Mai'll get the job done in the end."

"Make your move already, Wheeler!" snapped Mai.

"Mai! Don't you understand!" Joe continued to plead. "You could lose your soul!"

"I traded mine in for power!" Mai shot back. "Sorry hon, the Mai you knew is gone forever!"

"…You know, if this wasn't so intense, this would be fun," commented Gema. "I mean, we walked in a duel between two Battle City finalists, with the Battle City champion being present!"

"Hmm, a flock of birds and a mini-Godzilla," murmured Kenyon, noting the playfield below, which had Mai's Harpy Lady and Joe's Alligator Sword in play. "I've never seen that before."

"Kenyon…" sweat-dropped Miranda and Gema.

"What?"

"Those are Duel Monsters!" exclaimed Miranda.

"Oh, I know that."

The girls both shook their heads, then went silent as they watched the duel progress. Each were lost in his or her own thoughts, trying to get a handle of the situation they suddenly found themselves in. Miranda was examining every inch of the seal carefully, trying to apply everything she had learned into figuring it out. The magic aura from it was so powerful it was nearly numbing her magical instinct. Gema was watching the duel more carefully, focusing on the strategies and combinations both duelists used. She was more than surprised by each new effect the seal offered, scanning her memory for a strategy that would work against a card so powerful. Kenyon was almost enjoying himself. The holographic effects were as good as any movie he'd ever seen, and from his place in the balcony, it did seem like he was watching a movie, with good characters and an intense plot. He occasionally glanced over at Raphael and Valon when they commented on the duel, but he wasn't wary about them at all. Valon and Raphael seemed to have lost interest in the three friends, especially as the duel escalated. Valon seemed to think it was only a matter of time before Joe was unable to continue his stalling and would lose the duel. Raphael remained silent on that issue.

Unseen by those on the balcony, three more people showed up during the duel. They had all been locked outside thanks to the now active security system and metal grates. The first of these three was quickly informed of the situation and ran for another entrance so that he could find a way to disable the system and let them all out. The remaining two watched the duel with twisted interest and commented about it between themselves. Yu-Gi and his friends hardly paid these two any attention.

"I saw a movie like this once…" commented Kenyon as he looked down at the field.

Mai's Harpy Ladies were sweeping in on Joe's face down monster via a magic card called Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation. The monster was destroyed, but Joe was unaffected by the other effects of Phoenix Formation due to the fact his monster had 0 attack points. Life points were in favor of Mai, 3600 to 200.

"Oh, shut up about your movies!" exclaimed Miranda, cutting him off. Down below, Joe was reaching to draw a new card. His deck started glowing the moment his fingers touched it. Miranda instantly sensed the new aura. "Wha!"

"That's it!" exclaimed Yu-Gi as a bright flash of light erupted from Joe's deck.

"That didn't happen in the movie!" exclaimed Kenyon.

"What was that!" exclaimed Valon, equally shocked.

"Trouble," answered Raphael, shortly. His arms were crossed and he hadn't even budged from the strange happenings on the floor below him.

"_What aura is this!"_ wondered Miranda. _"I've never felt it before! What is going on with these people and these strange things I am sensing from them?"_ She leaned even further forward, until she could no longer safely do so as she tried to focus on the going-ons.

"I think it froze," commented Kenyon. On the first floor, Joe and Yu-Gi weren't moving, just staring blankly ahead.

"I think the duel overwhelmed him…" murmured Gema.

"They're just…standing there…" muttered Miranda.

At that same moment, Yu-Gi and Joe started moving again. Joe looked over his shoulder, through the greenish haze of the Seal of Orichalcos, at Yu-Gi. A completely stumped expression crossed his face.

"What…was that?" he asked.

"That's what we want to know!" exclaimed Tristan.

Yu-Gi shook his head slightly, and Joe caught on. He looked back across the field at his opponent. A look of renewed determination crossed his face. Gema and Miranda exchanged a look, wondering where this change came from.

"Did I miss an important plot element?" asked Kenyon. "What's going on?"

"No idea whatsoever," replied Miranda. Her attention was now back on the duel field, and she didn't break it to look at Kenyon.

"What's with that smirk, Wheeler!" shot Mai, glaring viciously across the field.

"Meet my new friend, Hermos!" exclaimed Joe as he put the card he just drew onto his duel disk. A massive dragon appeared on the field over his magic/trap card section. The dragon was deep red with multiple white spines across its back. A pearly white horn was on the end of its nose. The underside of the too small wings was off-violet and the dragon's belly was a light shade of red. It bellowed the moment it was summoned, showing a mouth full of very sharp fangs.

Miranda suddenly clutched her temples as the power of the newest monster clashed with the existing powers on the field—especially against the Seal of Orichalcos. "Wh-what is this! What's going on here!" she explained under her breath.

"Hey, Miranda, are you okay?" asked Kenyon, with genuine concern rising in his tone.

Miranda didn't answer him. She had regained her bearings and was once more leaning over the railing, scrutinizing the seal. "I swear some of those look like zodiac symbols…"

"Really?" asked Gema, who barely heard her friend's muttering. "I thought some of them looked like the Norse Runes that LJ Smith described in Forbidden Game."

"I bet it's a code describing the philosopher's stone," said Kenyon.

Gema and Miranda slowly turned and looked at each other, then at Kenyon. He merely smiled. Both girls shook their heads and didn't bother to comment on his theory. Not far from where they stood, Valon suddenly burst into laughter. On the first floor, Joe had combined his new dragon Hermos with his Time Wizard monster. The fusion had resulted in a comical equipment card, which had been equipped to his revived Fiend Megacyber.

"It looks like a croquet mallet with wings!" exclaimed Valon, who was still laughing.

"You know…it kinda does…" Miranda quietly agreed.

"Can he turn it back into a dragon?" Téa sweat-dropped.

The mallet was pastel colored. It had a small set of white wings and the end of the head was the face of a clock. It looked nothing like the vicious dragon that stood on the field only a moment before. Even funnier was the fact a rather strong-looking fiend monster held it. Everyone watching the duel had equally shocked expressions, that included both of the duelists.

Joe was the first to recover. "I don't care what it looks like, I've got a good feeling about this! Fiend Megacyber! Pick up that hammer thingy and attack!"

"That idiot!" exclaimed Tristan as Joe's monster started to charge across the makeshift duel arena.

The fiend never fully crossed the field, though. It stopped halfway and raised the mallet, striking the ground with earthquake level force. A huge, perfectly round hole formed where the mallet struck. At the same time, a glowing white number appeared on the foreheads of all of Mai's monsters, right on top of the symbol of the seal.

On the second floor, Valon started laughing even harder. "Thanks for the countin' lesson! Can you teach me the alphabet next!" Valon cackled, holding his sides.

"Miranda, do you have any idea what just happened in the duel?" asked Gema. "I've never heard of that Hermos card before, nor have I seen a fusion like that. And I have absolutely no idea what that effect could be."

There was sudden shrieking below them as all of Mai's monsters were sucked from their battle positions into the hole and completely out of sight. Mai was completely dumbstruck, though she wasn't alone in that feeling. Joe was taken off guard by it as well. The only one who remained composed with Yu-Gi.

"I'm as clueless as you are," replied Miranda the moment things settled.

"Mai…" whispered Valon. The moment things took a nosedive for her; he had instantly sobered up.

"Don't worry, we get a soul either way," commented Raphael.

"She's one of us now!" protested Valon.

"She's completely losing her cool," replied Raphael.

Without any monsters, Joe managed to get a direct attack in, dropping Mai down to 1400 life points. This had a definite effect on his opponent. Mai was clutching her arms together and shaking, cold sweat lining her forehead. She was muttering to herself, completely freaking out. With shaking hands she drew her next card. At that moment, her Harpy's Pet Dragon flew out of the hole and returned to her side of the field.

"What now?" asked Kenyon.

Miranda took a moment to answer, "Mai's monster weren't destroyed during the last turn. They were removed from play. But it seems like that effect only lasts a few turns…"

"Oh!" exclaimed Gema, also figuring out the special ability. "The numbers we saw determine when they return to the game!" The metaphoric lightbulb was floating over her head.

"Mai, I'm going to save us both!" called Joe as he activated Skull Dice to stop her Harpy's Pet Dragon from destroying his only monster.

Mai lost her dragon and 950 more life points from that combo. After seeing her dragon break apart, her shaking resumed even more fiercely. "I can't lose, I can't lose, I won't go back," she kept muttering under her breath. But now she was loud enough for those above her to make out the words.

"This duel is over," commented Raphael, completely nonchalantly. "She's totally lost it."

"I've seen enough! I'm not going to lose her!" exclaimed Valon.

Before anyone else could react, he leap over the side of the railing, keeping a grip on it with one hand. When he boots contacted the glass he pushed off against it, jumping forward and into the air, staring a freefall to the first floor, directly over the duel.

"Valon!" shouted Raphael.

Valon raised his right fist, showing the ring on it—the ring with a large chunk of green stone. "With this piece of the Orichalcos, I unlock the seal!" He swung a punch and the ring connected with the curve of the energy field from the seal.

"Get down!" shouted Kenyon, tackling both Gema and Miranda to the dusty tile floor. Both had thoughts of slugging him, but those thoughts only lasted a fraction of a second.

BOOM! The Seal of Orichalcos exploded.

Everyone on the ground was thrown off of their feet and sent sprawling across the lobby. Those closest to the source of the explosion were actually knocked unconscious. When the smoke cleared Joe was face down on the floor, not moving. The holograms had all been deactivated. Yu-Gi, Téa, and Tristan were slowly and painfully picking themselves up. Valon was on his knees, cradling Mai's unconscious body. His right hand was hanging by his side, not moving. Raphael leapt over the railing and landed beside him on the ground floor.

"Why did you do it Valon?" demanded Raphael. "You betrayed Dartz, risked your own soul, and could have killed all of us! All for some girl!"

"She's not 'some girl', Raphael," groaned Valon.

The three friends left on the second floor were also trying to untangle themselves and stand up. When they raised their heads they could see that the glass railing now had a large spiderweb crack in it, right where they had been standing before Kenyon pushed the girls down.

"Kenyon…" stammered Gema. "How did you…? …Thanks."

"Don't mention it," shrugged Kenyon, still easily holding his carefree nature.

"Well, bad vibe's gone…" muttered Miranda.

"You two! Stop right there!" exclaimed Yu-Gi as he approached Raphael and Valon. Téa and Tristan were trying to rouse Joe.

"Hrmph," retorted Raphael. "Next time, I'll take your soul, pharaoh." With that, the pendant on his neck began to glow brightly.

In a flash, he, Mai, and Valon completely vanished. In that same instant, there was a grating noise as the security grid around the doors started rising. Joe started groaning, the noise waking him.

"It's finally over," commented Miranda. Behind the three friends, the doors of the elevator opened. Without a second thought Miranda walked to it, leaving Kenyon and Gema to follow her.

"I think it's time we got some answers," said Gema, to no one in particular.

When they got to the first floor the crowd there had a few new members. The two short duelists who had been trapped outside had entered when the grid entered and were watching from the side. Also, a guy their age had joined them. He wore black and red and had venom green eyes. He was talking to Tristan and Yu-Gi. Judging from the conversation, he had been the one to disable the security system.

"You three! Stop right there!" demanded Yu-Gi. Miranda, Gema, and Kenyon froze.

"Hey! They're the ones who were with those bikers!" exclaimed Tristan.

"No, no, no!" protested Miranda, meekly holding her hands up. "We're not with them, seriously."

"Yeah, wrong place at the wrong time," added Gema. "We're locals."

"Right, we're good guys, not bad guys," chimed Kenyon.

"Then what are you doing here?" asked Yu-Gi, suspiciously.

"We were looking for Pegasus to ask him why our town was suddenly turned into a creature feature," answered Kenyon.

"And those bikers as you call them cornered us here," finished Miranda.

"I think they're telling the truth," commented the new arrival. "That seemed to be what happened when a browsed through the recent security tapes."

"Oh, sorry for the mistake then," said Téa.

"It's okay, after all we've seen, I can see why you'd be cautious," replied Miranda. "My name's Miranda Ryu. This is Gema Gall, and that's Kenyon Knight."

"Nice to meet you," Kenyon smiled brightly.

"I'm Téa Gardener," responded Téa.

"And I'm Yug…" started Yu-Gi.

"Yu-Gi Motou!" exclaimed Gema, nodding. "We all know you here."

"Heh, that's quite a rep you have now, Yug. I'm Tristan Taylor," said the brunette. "And the guy sulking is Joe Wheeler."

"Can it monkey-boy," snapped Joe. "I'm going to get her back! Just you watch!"

"And you are?" asked Kenyon, turning to the newest one.

"Duke Deblin," he answered, tossing his hair back in a manner that can only be described as 'cool.'

"Well, like Kenyon said, it's nice to meet all of you," said Miranda.

"What's going on here!" demanded a voice as cold as blue ice that caused Gema to inhale so sharply she nearly swallowed her own tongue.


	4. Pegasus's Insight

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

x-x-x-x-x-x

AN/ ; I did intend to make this a Christmas present to my wonderful co-author, YamiUmiRyu. However, y'all can tell by the date I'm posting it that I very clearly missed Christmas. But anyways...Merry Christmas, YUR!

All eyes turned to the door as two new people stepped into the mostly deserted Industrial Illusion building. Joe Wheeler quickly picked himself up and attempted to dust off his clothing, contempt momentarily flashing in his eyes. Everyone else present; Téa, Tristan, Duke, Rex, Weevil, Miranda, Kenyon, and Gema, seemed surprised into silence. That is, everyone else except Yu-Gi, who remained completely collected. But that's because his Egyptian alter-ego was still in control.

"_Oh great, the loser convention is in town,"_ Seto Kaiba mental groaned. "What's going on here?"

"What are you doing here, Kaiba?" asked Téa at the same moment.

He gave her a hard look for a long moment, almost as if it was beneath him to answer her question. Standing beside him was his younger brother Mokuba, who stepped forward and bumped him slightly, trying to get him to relax a few hairs.

"Let me guess...Looking for Maximilian Pegasus?" volunteered Miranda.

"Yes...actually," replied Kaiba, coldly. "And who are you?"

Miranda forced a smile despite half of her face being hidden by her dyed bangs. She returned his stiffness with friendliness. "My name's Miranda Ryu and this is Kenyon Knight." She gestured to the blond next to her. Kenyon waved on cue. "And your biggest fan is..."

She gestured to Gema on the other side of her, expecting a hyper reaction. However, Gema merely stood with both hands clasped across her mouth, staring at Kaiba without blinking or breathing. She hardly even seemed to hear the conversation going on around her. All she did was stand and stare with star-struck eyes.

"She's Gema. We're locals here," sighed Miranda, shaking her head slightly.

Kaiba barely seemed to hear the introductions either, but that was because he simply didn't care about them. He breezed on by them, frost practically following in his wake. He stopped when he was even with Yami Yu-Gi and looked down at him out of the corner of his blue eyes.

"Whatever. Where's Pegasus?" he asked.

"We have no idea, really," answered Tristan, rubbing the back of his head.

"Right, we were looking for him ourselves when we ran into those bikers," added Miranda.

"Maybe the Borrowers borrowed him?" suggested Kenyon, who was ignored.

"This whole place is empty," continued Duke, addressing everyone as he could tell that they all had the same questions. "I checked it out when I was looking for a computer. No one was here. If they were, they would have come out when I hacked the security system." He paused a moment, cradling his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Although there was one door that refused to open..."

"Was the philosopher's stone behind it?" Kenyon asked eagerly.

"Kenyon..." Miranda warned him, tapping her bell against her thigh. His eyes went wide for a moment, then he fell into sheepish silence while everyone else gave them weird looks.

"Let's go see this locked door, Duke," suggested Yami, taking the lead.

"Oh, sure, follow me," said Duke, motioning them all to follow as he lead them to the stairs.

Yami and his closest friends followed along first, followed by Miranda and Kenyon. Kaiba started walking behind them with Mokuba tagging along. As they started to move Gema finally found it in her to breathe again and she began drifting along after them. Rex and Weevil came in the rear, walking as if they were sneaking, as if they were unwelcomed. No one seemed to notice or care about them despite their obvious efforts to be discreet.

At the top floor Duke led them to a room that was empty except for a single computer that was still turned on. Even the walls, ceiling, and floor were completely bare. To the right was a nondescript door that was still tightly shut. Duke placed a hand on it and wiggled the handle.

"See, locked tight," he commented.

Téa ran her finger along the door frame and stopped at a card reader embedded in the side. "I guess it'll open if someone has a security card for it."

Without a word, Yami pulled one out of his back pocket and slid it along the reader. The door opened inward silently.

"Where'd you get that from?" asked Duke, surprised.

However, Yami didn't answer. He had already stepped into the room and looked around. Everyone else filtered in behind him and were equally stunned into silence, Kaiba openly groaning. The entire back wall was blocked with a life-sized model of Toon World, complete with human-sized models of all of the famous toon monsters from the Duel Monster's card game. The other walls had murals of a comic world and more statues and the ground was set up like a garden for sampling images from the card game.

"Er...so where's Roger Rabbit?" asked Kenyon to break the silence.

"Just...great..." gritted Kaiba.

"How can anyone so sophisticated be this...childish?" asked Miranda in a type of awe.

"Pegasus, sophisticated?" retorted Mokuba with a type of chuckle.

"If he's not here...then where is Pegasus?" wondered Duke.

"We'd all like to know," grumbled Joe.

As they talked they had been drifting around the room, taking in random and odd details as they all attempted to make sense of why such a ridiculous room was locked so tightly. Téa jumped in alarm as a toon jumped out at her like a jack-in-the-box. Fortunately she managed not to scream. As Yami approached the back of the room by the massive Toon World book, the lights flickered and the sound of a computer running kicked in. Immediately in front of him, an actual sized hologram of Maximilian Pegasus appeared. It flickered a few times, threatening to vanish, and unlike the Duel Monsters' holograms, this one was transparent so everyone could see the plastic statues behind him.

"Yu-Gi boy? At least I hope it's you that found this room," the hologram said.

"Pegasus?" echoed Miranda and Duke.

"A cheap hologram," huffed Kaiba.

"If you're in this room," continued the hologram without taking a pause for their asides. "Then that means the dark corporation that had attacked Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corp. has already got me."

"Dark corporation?" echoed Kenyon.

"We're too late..." said Yami, morbidly.

"You see, after my retirement from Duel Monsters, I returned to study more on their Egyptian origins and made a remarkable discovery. These monsters lived even before the pyramids were built," explained the Pegasus hologram.

"Before?!" gasped Duke.

"What's this about Egypt?" asked Miranda, confused.

Around the room those present were giving the Pegasus hologram a variety of expressions of incredulity or shock, but the hologram couldn't respond to them. It remained as placid as ever, continuing to cite its prerecorded message.

"But to the matter at hand," it said, refusing to explain the cryptic message seconds before. "This dark corporation plans to revive the monsters from their card imprisonment and steal the souls of both monster and human alike to reawaken a terrible creature...The Great Leviathan."

"What a bunch of bull, Pegasus!" Kaiba suddenly shot, both of his hands formed into tight fists. "I want to know why you're after my company!"

Despite being prerecorded, the hologram did an excellent job of contemptuously ignoring his outburst. "Yu-Gi, you, yourself, should know the magic of the Millennial Items, but this power that steals souls is far beyond their powers alone. The leader of this corporation plans to destroy the world using my creations!"

"I see..." murmured Yami, taking it all in, his violet eyes narrowing slightly. "We must find a way to stop him."

"I'm counting on you. I have hidden a card somewhere in this room that will help you," explained Pegasus.

"A card?" echoed Duke, sounding skeptically as he eyed up all of this cartoon-based artistic clutter that had been used to decorate the room. There were literally millions of places an item as small as a card could be hidden, and that's without taking into consideration secret compartments.

"You must find it and guard it with your life. Now look around, where can one find an extra card?" asked Pegasus, coyly.

Yami did little more than visually scan the room for a brief second. "Pot of Greed!" He exclaimed as he noticed a statue replica of the spell card that was as big as a trash can.

Unnoticed until this point in time, Rex and Weevil both made a dive for the Pot of Greed at the same time. However, Tristan was one step faster and he scooped up the entire statue and jerked it right out of their fingertips. Their momentum carried them forward and their heads collided directly over the stand that had been supporting the Pot of Greed. Not even bothering to see if they were okay, Tristan carried the statue over to Yami and set it down on the ground directly in front of him. Yami reached inside and pulled out the promised card a few seconds later, Téa, Joe, Duke, and Kenyon all leaning in for a closer look.

"Weevil!" snarled Rex, rubbing the knot out of his head.

"It's your fault!" countered Weevil and the two started bickering amongst themselves in the background. Yet, despite the noise they made, everyone else still completely ignored them.

Yami's head bobbed in surprised. "But...this card is blank."

"How's a blank card supposed to help us?!" exclaimed Tristan.

"It's worthless. A lame joke," Seto Kaiba said disdainfully.

"This is the key to bringing down their plans," continued Pegasus. "You must stop him before it's too late!" His hologram flickered a few more times, then vanished entirely. The sounds of the machine running went dead and all the lights in the room went back to normal, leaving them in an uneasy silence.

Once again, it was Kenyon to break the silence, "So...the dark corporation is Rent-A-Zilla?" Everyone around him face-faulted massively.

"Weren't you listening at all?!" Miranda growled in his ear.

"So...those Duel Monsters weren't just duel disks going nuts! Their souls were about to be destroyed!" exclaimed Téa, looking like she had had an epiphany.

"Cut the nonsense!" shot Kaiba. "This is just some elaborate scheme of Pegasus to take down my company!"

"Seto..." whimpered Mokuba.

"Kaiba, you know better," countered Yami while maintaining his composure. "Does a card like this look familiar?" The card he held up had a baby blue background that matched none of the color codes Pegasus had designated to mark card types. Although Yami's finger blocked most of the text, the picture showed a green dragon with twin horns.

"What...card is that?" asked Miranda as she examined it. _"It doesn't even have a set number. Where did this card come from? It can't be counterfeit, can it?"_

Kaiba didn't verbally reply. Instead, he pulled the top card off of his duel disk. It's background color matched Yami's except his dragon was deep blue with angular scales and vertical tusks. Kaiba's blue eyes met Yami with great intensity as if daring him to continue.

"Woah, I've got one too!" exclaimed Joe. He held his up, showing it to everyone. Inside of his baby blue background was a red dragon with rocky scales and a single horn growing out the middle of its nose.

Without warning all three cards began to pulse with their own light. It was so bright, so intense that it turned everyone into a mere silhouette. Gasps of surprise and exclamations echoed around the room as everyone shielded their eyes and tried to make sense of what was happening. The light didn't last long, and it faded as quickly as it started, but in its wake was a slew of new questions without answers.

"What gives?!" exclaimed Duke.

"You do know, right pharaoh?" asked Téa.

"It means...these are definitely the key to beating the Seal of Orichalcos," stated Yami.

"It's odd, but something's peculiar about that seal..." murmured Miranda, mostly to herself.

"Eh? What do you mean?" asked Kenyon.

"I wasn't too much interested in the duel, but more in the seal itself. Some of the marks on the rim looked like zodiac signs," explained Miranda.

"Really?" asked Gema, who had yet to take her eyes off of Seto Kaiba. "I thought some looked like Norse runes..." She trailed off as she resumed her daydreaming.

"What are you three mumbling about?" asked Tristan.

"Nothing!" Miranda and Kenyon chimed.

Yami looked at both cards he had in his hands; the dragon card and the blank card Pegasus had given him. He looked at them closely, as if trying to find a hidden clue. But no closer inspection could reveal anything so he tucked both of them back into his duel disk. Joe and Kaiba had already put theirs back into their respective decks. Kaiba was scowling in disgust.

"It's a waste of my time staying here. Mokuba, we're going," he said. Without waiting, he turned and started out, the hem of his violet trench coat sweeping around his ankles.

"Coming Seto!" called Mokuba, hauling his briefcase as he hurried to catch up.

Gema watched them leave and step by step followed quietly in their shadows. No one seemed to notice as she drifted out and she hardly seemed to be aware that she was moving herself. The door shut more harshly than necessary, leaving those remaining to plan.

"Well, you two have been awfully quiet back there..." Miranda commented, giving Rex and Weevil a sly eye. The two leapt away from the statue they were examining as if it had suddenly caught on fire. Both looked sheepish, as if they didn't want the others to know they had been searching for other rare cards.

"Why do you care, girly?!" Weevil managed to squeak out.

"Girly?" Miranda echoed, her visible eye twitching. "Weevil Underwood, you know the damage I've done to him?" She jerked her thumb at Kenyon, her metal bell dangling from her fist. "Imagine how much of a bug-on-a-windshield you'll be when I'm through with you." The last statement came out mixed with a low growl.

"What **are** the two of you doing here in the first place?" asked Yu-Gi, who had recently switched control with Yami.

"Um...er...eh..." stammered Rex, his eyes looking for a fast escape.

"Er...well...we...You tell them Rex!" stammered Weevil.

"Huh? Why me?!"

"Just do it dino dork!"

"Why you...!"

"Oh, so you must be Rex Raptor, the dinosaur duelist," Miranda interjected.

"I'm not here to steal anything!" protested Rex.

"Hey, don't look at me," Duke said, raising his hands because Joe and Tristan were giving him disgruntled looks. "I only found them on my way here. They said they were friends of yours." Joe and Tristan wasted no time in knocking that lie out of his head.

"You know him?" Kenyon asked Miranda.

Miranda shrugged casually. "By reputation." For a moment Rex inflated his chest and gave an egotistically look to Weevil. Miranda noticed this and shot them both a dark look as she continued. "At least he didn't _cheat_ and still lose."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Miles away on an uncharted island far into the ocean on what appeared to be an ancient temple, a shrouded man chanted in front of a giant statue of a three headed serpent in the inner chamber. The large room was only lit by torchlight which cast eerie shadows on the statue and supportive pillars as well as the man himself. It left the corners of the room hidden in obscure darkness. Even eerier was the images of people carved into squares on the wall and covered in shadows. The darkness hung around the room, making it hard to believe. But the man there didn't seem to mind, he was so focused. At length he turned when he heard the sound of heavy boots enter behind him.

"Master Dartz," said Amelda, bowing to one knee as the shrouded man turned to face him.

"Report, Amelda," Dartz simply stated.

"As you anticipated, the pharaoh and his friends arrived at Industrial Illusions and dueled against our newest recruit. However, there was some unwanted faces and during the duel..." Amelda began to explain, still keeping to a single knee.

"Unwanted faces?" Dartz cut him off. "Explain."

"Two girls and a boy were there before the pharaoh and..."

"Who are they?"

Amelda paused a moment to recollect. "They're names are Miranda, Kenyon, and Gema. They seemed like an odd bunch to me. Not worth our time."

"How much did they see?" Dartz continued to question.

"They saw the entire duel, which unfortunately ended when..."

Once again, Dartz cut him off, "Amelda...you should have taken them down before that."

"But Master Dartz," protested Amelda. "They don't even look like decent duelists. They can't possibly be any threat. Their souls will be easy enough to take."

"Then do so," stated Dartz, coldly, pulling his hood back to reveal one turquoise eye and one gold eye. His expression was so serious that Amelda instantly picked up the hint to agree to whatever his boss said. "And do not fail. Leviathan is on the brink of resurrection."

"They will be taken care of, Master," agreed Amelda, lowering his head again.

"Now go, Leviathan grows impatient," ordered Dartz. "And so do I."

"Right away," agreed Amelda, rising to his feet and hastily walking out of the chamber.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Back at the American branch of Industrial Illusions, Yu-Gi, Téa, Tristan, and Joe were filling in the details about the Seal of Orichalcos, the invasion of real Duel Monsters, and the history they had learned from Pegasus to Duke, Miranda, and Kenyon. Rex and Weevil were standing and sulking along the margins of their conversation. They had made their way to the main lobby and were standing in the light of the glass doors.

"Soul-stealing cards and new dragons? I'm entirely lost..." said Miranda, massaging her temples.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense," agreed Duke. "And I've seen the kinds of stuff you guys get into."

"So where does Rent-A-Zilla fit in? And do they have the philosopher's stone yet?" asked Kenyon, rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

"Kenyon?" called Miranda. The moment he turned to face her she whipped out her bell and hit him in the side of his head. A low gong sound echoed as Kenyon hit the floor with a quick exclamation of pain.

"What did I do?" he whimpered.

"Kenyon...where did you get that?" Téa asked, looking down at his sprawled out left hand. Across all of his knuckles was a narrow but long scar.

"Eh? This?" he asked as he picked himself up with a wince. He held up his hand to show her and she nodded in confirmation. Kenyon merely shrugged once he was in a sitting position. "Don't know. I've just...always had it." He shook his head, causing his blond spikes to tumble out of control even more and then stood up, making sure to keep out of range of Miranda's bell.

"I know!" Yu-Gi suddenly exclaimed. "Prof. Hawkins! He's bound to know more about everything that's going on. Let's find him and ask him!"

"Prof. Hawkins?" echoed Miranda, tucking her bell into her denim vest again. "I think I just read an article by him...isn't he claiming that Duel Monsters is a recreation of an Egyptian game?"

"That's him," nodded Yu-Gi. "He's good friends with my grandpa and he told us to see him if we made it to America."

"I'm game," chimed Joe. "Anything to help get Mai back."

"So where is he then?" asked Tristan.

"Let me check," murmured Yu-Gi as he pulled out a pocket address book and began flipping through the pages.

During this, Rex and Weevil had split into another one of their devious conversations that was about to break into another squabble. Duke was starting to look slightly bored and his green eyes wandered around for something to preoccupy his attention with. Téa shifted nervously and looked behind her, uneasy with being inside such a large but empty building.

"Prof. Hawkins has a museum around here, right," she asked Yu-Gi.

"Yeah, but he'll be in his lab which is in the desert," answered Yu-Gi. "Right here." He pointed to the address he had found.

"Let's get going then. This empty building is creepy," commented Duke.

"I'd agree," started Miranda. "But that's your car, right?" She pointed to a large, teal car directly in front of the doors to the company. It was a 1950's convertible in nearly mint condition, the sun sparkling off of its paint as if dirt couldn't possibly cling to it.

"Yeah, that's mine," said Duke, proudly.

"With a party this big...I doubt your classic will fit all of us," she finished. "Kenyon and Gema and I came here on foot and judging from how winded everyone else was before the duel...so did they."

"You're coming too?" asked Joe, skeptically.

Miranda shrugged. "We want to know more too, and I don't have to work until the weekend, so..."

"We could leave these two roaches behind," Tristan said, half-jokingly, as he jerked his thumb at Rex and Weevil.

"Hey, you're not leaving us stranded here!" protested Weevil.

"Well...maybe we could ask Kaiba?" suggested Yu-Gi.

However, those words were barely out of his mouth when the building shook with the massive sounds of a jet starting. Everyone spun at the same moment and stared out the windows. A jet shaped like a Blue-Eyes, White Dragon was rolling down the parking lot as if it was a runway. A few seconds later it was in the sky, leaving nothing behind but a trail of exhaust.

"That's right! Get outta here!" shot Joe. "We don't want your help anyways, rich-boy!" He shook a fist at the vanishing silhouette of the jet as if Kaiba has deliberately slighted him by leaving.

"Hey...where's Gema?" asked Kenyon, looking around.

"Er..." several people muttered as they turned their heads, searching the room visually for her. It slowly dawned on all of them how long she had not been present.

"I thought I saw her tagging along after Kaiba a while back..." Duke said, slowly.

"What?!" gasped Joe.

"Aw man...she didn't...did she?" groaned Miranda, exchanging a look with Kenyon. She sighed again and motioned to him. "Come on, we need to look for her."

"Eh? Did the Borrowers borrow her too?" asked Kenyon as he followed along after her.

"Hey, we'll help too!" Téa volunteered her friends.

They all started to spread out across the lobby and second floor, opening the doors to offices and looking inside and calling her name occasionally. However, no one ever replied. Seeming to sense that it was a futile search, Yu-Gi and Duke stayed in the middle of the lobby to discuss transportation.

"You can fit five people, right?" Yu-Gi asked.

"Right. But if they find Gema, that's ten people," stated Duke, twirling a die between his fingers absentmindedly. "And we don't have many options right now."

"She's not down here," stated Tristan as he rejoined them with Téa. Then he added, catching the last part of their conversation, "We could hitchhike."

Téa shot him a look so venomous that he instantly went silent. "Too bad Pegasus's limo got destroyed. That would have held all of us."

"Hey, maybe there's one here though we can borrow!" Duke said, perking up.

"Just take one of Pegasus's cars?" asked Tristan, incredulously.

"I'll explain everything when we find him," Duke replied. "It won't be a problem. Pegasus likes me." The final statement caused everyone present to look at him in disbelief. Duke completely ignored it and strolled away calmly. "I'll go look in the parking garage. If I find anything I'll pull it up to the front. You guys keep looking for Gema."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Thirty minutes later Yu-Gi, Téa, Joe, Tristan, Duke, Miranda, Kenyon, Rex, and Weevil met in the lobby. No one had any luck finding any signs of Gema. Parked just outside of the window next to Duke's classic was a spacious silver convertible, the keys dangling from the ignition. Joe and Tristan both had a tight grip on Rex and Weevil's collars, having found those two digging around office drawers for rare cards.

"No luck for us...How about you guys?" asked Kenyon.

"I did find another car, we'll just need someone to drive it," said Duke, gesturing outside.

"I'll drive!" chimed Joe.

"Téa, how about you?" asked Duke, ignoring Joe's waving hand.

"Sorry, I don't have my license," she replied, a bit sheepishly.

"Neither do I," said Yu-Gi.

"Don't look at me," added Miranda.

"I can drive!" exclaimed Joe.

"I failed my driving test and haven't retaken it," explained Tristan.

"I don't even have my temps," said Kenyon.

"I can drive!" Joe exclaimed again.

"Last time you drove I got thrown out of a speeding truck!" shot Duke.

"Hey, lay off, we were being chased by the Big Freaky Five!" protested Joe.

"Eh-hem!" cough Téa, noticing the baffled looks Miranda, Kenyon, Rex, and Weevil were giving them at the mention of the Big Five.

"I'm driving then," finished Joe. Duke gritted his teeth but offered no further protests. He merely ran his fingers through his black bangs and regained his cool composure.

"Well...let's go then," suggested Miranda.

"Aren't you worried about your friend?" asked Yu-Gi.

Miranda shrugged. "She's not here and she can take care of herself. Not much else we can do about it."

"Besides, she'll be okay with Kaiba, right?" asked Kenyon.

Joe's eyes bulged slightly at the mention of Kaiba's name and he tightened his grip on Weevil's collar, momentarily choking him. For a moment it looked like he would start ranting as anger throbbed around his head. Fortunately, he managed to keep any harsh language repressed. "No way that jerk would take her with him!"

Miranda and Kenyon again exchanged a look. "But if there was a way, Gema would find it," Miranda stated.

"Couldn't you call her cell phone?" suggested Téa.

"She doesn't have one," answered Kenyon. "Which is good. I hate those people who don't listen to the warning signs and keep theirs on during movies. So rude."

"She doesn't have a cell phone?" echoed Tristan.

"It wouldn't sound so weird if you knew her family," replied Miranda in a tone that hinted to drop the entire subject completely. She started walking out the front doors. "If you don't mind Duke, I'd like to go with you."

"Me too!" chimed Tristan, Téa, and Kenyon all at once with Yu-Gi, Rex, and Weevil's expressions all showing that they would rather have him behind the wheel than Wheeler.

"Dibs on shotgun!" called Tristan again as he tried to race out. However, Joe dropped his grip on Weevil and caught him in a choke hold.

"You're coming with me, ain't that right, pal?" Joe gritted, tightening his grip.

Téa chortled and walked out with Yu-Gi. "We'll see you guys there."

"Bye," waved Duke as he strolled out with a smug smile and got into the driver's seat of his car. Kenyon, Miranda, Téa, and Yu-Gi quickly filled up the remaining seats and Duke had started the engine before Joe and Tristan even managed to dash out the doors.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"This is it?" asked Duke as he turned into a gravel driveway at Yu-Gi's instructions.

"Right...we should be seeing Prof. Hawkin's lab soon," confirmed Yu-Gi, looking around for any sign of it.

They had driven out for several hours into the desert and the sun was just starting to vanish behind the low mountains and mesas that outlined the scenery. The terrain was level besides those, spotted with boulders and cacti. The sun still reflected off of the sand, causing them all the sweat when Duke wasn't speeding enough to create a breeze. A hazy, dark cloud drifted in front of the sun and a strange odor lingered on the air.

"What happened here?!" cried Yu-Gi as the ruins of the lab came into sight.

It was hard to tell that it had even been a building. All that was left was smoldering drywall and misshapen steel support beams. Smoke still drifted into the sky and embers glowed warm in hidden corners of the rubble. Duke stopped his car and Yu-Gi jumped out over the door without waiting for it to be opened. The silver convertible pulled in behind them and was miraculously unharmed. It stopped besides Duke car and all of its passengers looked on in shock.

"Rebecca! Prof. Hawkins?!" Yu-Gi shouted, frantically looking around for them.

"Prof. Hawkins!" Téa chimed in, helping with the search.

"W-what happened? It looks like they got bombed!" exclaimed Joe as he got out and surveyed the damage with Tristan and Duke.

"I don't like special effects like this..." muttered Kenyon to himself.

"Rebecca! Prof. Hawkins!" called everyone else as they began to spread out to search better.

A shadow moved slowly out of the darkness, causing Téa to jump in surprise. A young girl with long blond hair stepped into the dimming light. Soot streaked her face, marking where tears had been. She looked in a daze and she stared at them all for a moment before her eyes fell on Yu-Gi. Without warning she threw herself into his arms and started sobbing as hard as she could into his chest.

"Rebecca?!" Yu-Gi gasped.

"They took him! They took my grandpa!" she sobbed uncontrollably.


	5. Desert Debate

AN/ Sorry about the huge delay in posting any kind of update. I have been in a rut with my writing, mostly due to real life circumstances. In addition, I am now living in South Korea because of my job. I do have intentions of continuing my fics and rewriting to improve many of them—I just can't give much promise on time at the moment. Sorry.

And, as always, please read, review, and enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being criticized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Yu-Gi, Joe, Tristan, and Rebecca were all seated around the narrow table inside Rebecca's grandpa's RV while the others stood. There was no where else for them to go—the lab and residence of Prof. Hawkins was nothing but rubble and ash. The sun was beginning to descend in the sky and Rebecca was clearly in no condition to travel anywhere at that moment. Yu-Gi sat awkwardly as Rebecca clung to him, sobbing. He seemed uncertain as to whether he should move his arms to comfort her despite his discomfort. Téa watched, attempting to verbally comfort her—but her hands were subconsciously tightened into fists. It was awkward and quite in the crowded RV—the guys talked in lower murmurs as they tried to decide their next course of action.

"It's those same guys from Industrial Illusions and you know it," stated Tristan. "They're the only ones who'd do something like this." As he talked about Prof. Hawkins' abduction he sounded annoyed and frustrated, and logically so. He ran his fingers through his hair to prevent himself from slamming the table with fists.

"After that display there, I'd have to agree too," said Duke with a much more composed demeanor.

"It's...it's awful," stated Téa, a bit distantly. She glanced beyond Yu-Gi and Rebecca and out the window to the crater that had once been a home.

"But...but why would someone do this to my grandpa?" asked Rebecca, her tone somewhere between a weak attempt to compose herself and the fringes of a wail.

Yu-Gi shifted slightly and attempted to tell her gently, "Probably...because of what he was researching. Remember what we talked about at the museum?" Rebecca didn't immediately respond, so he continued to try to coax a response out of her. "Remember how your grandpa was trying to research how old the game of Duel Monsters is?" She nodded once.

"But, why would they be interested in knowing how old it is? Isn't that a plot hole?" asked Kenyon as he leaned against the wall with his hands casually placed in his pockets.

"It's what he found with Duel Monsters that caught the attention of that "dark cooperation" Pegasus mentioned," explained Yu-Gi.

"Oh! Then that's a pretty cool plot twist," commented Kenyon with his usual grin. Miranda shot him a warning glare and he coughed twice and went sheepishly quiet.

"I know we don't know each other very well, but shouldn't we call the police in this situation?" asked Miranda.

"No!" exclaimed Rebecca, leaping to her feet and planting both palms on the table. Her sudden movement caused Joe to snap awake from his semi-dozing state. "That will put my grandpa in danger!" She sounded genuinely panicked by that concept.

Yu-Gi hesitated for a moment while Rebecca slid back into her seat beside him. She buried her face and forehead into her hands as she did, a faint whimper or moan barely audible from her lips. Yu-Gi glanced at her, concern written across his face mixed together with uncertainty with a hue of self-consciousness. He made a small cough before he continued speaking, still painfully aware that he didn't know how to help Rebecca—if there was anything that could help her at this point in time.

"Rebecca...do you still have that pendant?" he asked, softly.

"Pendant...?" she echoed.

"The one I gave your grandpa when we arrived."

She made a small noise of agreement with her lips still closed and reached under her collar. After a second or two of fumbling she pulled out a small green stone on a thin silver string. It pulsed as it caught the final beam of sunlight for the day and darkness completely descended across the surrounding desert. Although it was only a small sliver, everyone in the room instantly locked their eyes upon it. For two beats it was as still as a breath. Kenyon was the first to move.

"The philosopher's stone!" he exclaimed in a loud voice while pointing directly at the green rock, causing everyone present to face fault massively. While they were still picking themselves and their jaws up he continued, "But...wasn't it destroyed at the end of the first Harry Potter movie?"

Miranda then elbow him hard in the ribs and he took the hint. She then clutched her head lightly with one hand, winced to hide a groan, and slumped slightly as she leaned further into the wall.

"That...That's the same stone those bikers had, isn't it?" she asked, although by the stone's appearance alone it was clearly meant to be a rhetorical question. _"What is with this aura? It calls...but it's... What is it? Painful...is that the word I want to use?"_

"May I see it?" Yu-Gi asked, holding out a hand. Rebecca nodded and silently passed it to him.

"Do you think that's what they were after?" Tristan asked. Yu-Gi nodded once, although not convincingly. He let Yami Yu-Gi take control and Yami peered at the stone intently, catching it at different angles in the light and rolling it around on his palm—looking for something, but uncertain what that was.

"We still don't know where to find them," Duke pointed-out, twirling a spare die idly between his thumb and forefinger. "We really shouldn't waste any more time here. We need to find them and get Prof. Hawkins back."

"But we hit a dead end. We don't know where to find them," Tristan said with a hint of frustration.

"That's not quite true," stated Yami Yu-Gi. He held the stone on his open palm. "This is what they want, right? Since Prof. Hawkins doesn't have it, they're sure to return." Rebecca's lower lip quivered in fear at that thought. Yami, lacking the empathy his counterpart had, didn't notice and continued talking, "We don't have to do anything but wait."

"That does make sense..." Duke murmured, trailing off as he couldn't decide if it was truly the best idea or not.

"Well, if we're waiting, let's eat! I'm starved!" suggested Joe immediately and enthusiastically.

" I can't believe you're thinking about food at a time..." Téa started to scold him but was interrupted by a low rumble from her own stomach which caused her to abruptly stop speaking and flustered. Her face flushed pink slightly and she coughed, ducking her head slightly to hide her blush behind her brown hair.

"That settles it, food first!" continued Joe, brightly. "I'll even do the cooking!"

"If you're cooking I'm not eating," Téa said with low sarcasm.

"You don't mind if we use your kitchen, do you Rebecca?" asked Tristan, rising from his seat. Rebecca numbly shook her head and Tristan took a step and a half over to the kitchen unit of the RV. He put his hand on a cupboard drawer but Joe pushed by him and swung the refrigerator open widely.

"Dibs on the food!" claimed Joe, eagerly as his whole body seemed to disappear inside the fridge. A moment later he surfaced with an entire chain of sausages in his mouth and a content, dopey smile on his face as he munched.

"Eat this!" shot Tristan, high kicking him in the head while Duke, Miranda, and Kenyon watched the spectacle in disbelief.

"Is he...always like that?" asked Miranda, timidly. Tristan, Yu-Gi, Téa, and Duke all nodded once in unanimity.

Tristan began pulling out a pot and some pans while Téa selected some meat and vegetables from the refrigerator and lined them up along the rather small counter. Kenyon had to step to the side, nearly into the small bathroom so that he wasn't in the way of the preparations. Miranda stayed standing near the front of the trailer and Duke rose, offering to help with the meal, while Yami Yu-Gi and Rebecca remained seated. Yami inspected the green jewel in his palm one final time before tying the ends of the silver cord around his neck for safe keeping. No one seemed to have noticed that Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood had long since disappeared.

The sun had set outside and it was now completely dark. There were no street lights this far outside of the city and with the lab gone there was nothing left to produce light. A thin trail of smoke from the rubble still wafted towards the stars. It was eerily quite beyond the RV; coyotes could be heard distantly. A barely noticeable wind sometimes called through the rocks. But everything was dark and still.

Miranda looked around, trying not to feel too awkward given the situation. While dinner simmered, her uncovered eye landed on a phone next to an idling laptop. "Rebecca...do you mind if I make a quick call?"

"Are you going to order pizza?" chimed Joe, expectantly. Miranda ignored him.

Rebecca made a small sound of allowance in her throat. "Yeah, sure, it's okay."

"Who are you gonna call?" asked Kenyon. "The people from Rent-A-Zilla to find out why they're after the philosopher's stone?" His usual smile never faltered as he spoke with all the seriousness that existed within him.

Miranda let out an exaggerated exasperated sigh. "Gema. We should try to find out where she went to after all, right?"As she spoke she stepped over to the phone and paused a moment, considering what number to dial. She then decided to dial 411 and found the public number for the local headquarters of Kaiba Corp.

The food was nearly done cooking by the time she got through the voice mail and roundabout of automated messages. Due to the appearance of Duel Monsters on the streets of most cities across the world, the call volume at Kaiba Corp had dramatically increased, forcing them to channel it through voice mail. Miranda was rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration when a familiar voice finally answered on the other end.

"Hello, Kaiba Corp. Helpline. If you have any reports about a Duel Disk malfunction or a haywire holographic projection we will gladly take any and all information you have and help you to rectify the situation. May I start with your name?" the human reply came.

"Gema?" asked Miranda, slightly surprised.

"Miranda?" Gema said, equally surprised from the other end.

"What are you doing answering phones at Kaiba Corp?"

"Well..." started Gema, sounding rather happy as she told her story. "Back at Industrial Illusions..."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Seto and Mokuba Kaiba were quickly walking together towards the exit of the Industrial Illusions complex towards a jet shaped like a Blue-Eyes, White Dragon in the parking lot. Gema was following softly behind them, watching Seto Kaiba without blinking as she hid behind a decorative pillar in the main lobby. Her heart pounded in her ears as he placed a hand on the door handle, about to leave, possibly forever.

Without thinking, let alone making a plan, she hurried out from behind the pillar and blurted out. "Please, wait Seto Kaiba-sama!" She followed up her flustered exclamation with a formal Japanese-style bow. Both Kaibas stopped and turned.

"Um...It's Gem-something, right?" asked Mokuba, trying to recall the introductions from before.

"Gema, yes," she hastily agreed, still flustering, still doubled over in her bow. She could feel the ice cold ice burrowing into her neck. Once again, the words came out of her mouth on their own. "Can I please have a job?"

"What?" the both echoed in unison.

Gema winced, but it was too late to withdraw her statement so she repeated it all the while mentally scolding herself. _"I shouldn't have been watching __Spirited Away__ with Kenyon last night!"_

"A job?" Seto Kaiba again asked in disbelief.

Gema straightened herself up halfway and nodded. "Yes...I would please like a job, Seto Kaiba-sama." She babbled, too nervous to stop herself but even more nervous by continuing. But babbling was better than the alternative—having him walk out of the door. "I know with all the chaos Kaiba Corp must be very busy and so I'd like to help out—you don't even have to pay me, I'll volunteer! I just want to help you and I'm very good with computers, I've even done some basic programming with Excel and..."

Kaiba let out a loud breath, cutting her off. "Fine, if you go to the main Kaiba Corp headquarters and speak to the manager of human resources they might be able to find you something." He turned again, not thinking she would seriously travel all the way to his corporation's office. His mind was also preoccupied with other thoughts about the current crisis and he hadn't even bothered to listen to half of her rant. "Let's go Mokuba."

"Right, big brother!" chimed Mokuba and they both strolled out.

Moments later, the Blue-Eyes, White Jet was flying into the distance and Gema was getting onto the first bus to downtown Los Angeles.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"And, so I got here and they put me to work on their helpline," Gema concluded. "You wouldn't believe the mass amounts of calls we've been getting about Duel Monster sightings! I've been designing my own compilation—a macro on Excel while I answer the calls so that way we can track what sightings are real and what are hoaxes and even follow the travels of the monsters." She took a breath. "But the best part is, Seto Kaiba-sama is on the top floor, right above me! I'm in the same building, **working for**, Seto Kaiba! I never would have thought it was possible but he's here and I'm here and...!"

"Woah, Gema, calm down!" exclaimed Miranda. "But it is good to hear you're okay."

"I haven't felt this good in a long time," Gema answered, her tone simply beaming.

"Anyways...about those Duel Monster sightings...one moment," started Miranda. Duke made a motion that caught her eye so she transferred the call to speaker so everyone in the trailer could hear. "Everyone wants to hear—what's going on with those Duel Monster sightings?"

"The official statement from Kaiba Corp is that the sightings are caused by a malfunction in the duel disk holo-projector system," answered Gema. "Seto Kaiba-sama insists there's no problem with his programming and suspects its malware from Industrial Illusions that is causing this massive glitch."

"Yeah, right!" shot Joe sarcastically, his mouth full of food. Miranda let out a growl of frustration under her breath and fingered her bell tucked into her pocket.

"So where are you? All of you?" asked Gema, taking note of the different sounds she was hearing in the background.

"We're at Prof. Eagle's place," Kenyon instantly answered, still smiling.

"That's Prof. **Hawkins**," shot Miranda. "Gema...you haven't heard anything unusual lately, have you?"

"Besides a report that a lady was convinced a Soul Tiger was stealing her laundry, not really."

"Prof Hawkins' laboratory was blown up by those same people we met at Industrial Illusions," explained Miranda.

"What?!"

With interjections from the rest of those present, Miranda quickly and briefly explained to Gema everything that they had seen, learned, and experienced since they parted ways at Industrial Illusions. She asked the occasional question as the story progressed and in the end everyone was quite surprised to see the same themes reoccurring throughout.

"Who are these bikers, anyways?" asked Gema, mostly rhetorically.

"Back in Domino, they called themselves DOOM," answered Tristan. "Not that that helps any..."

"It just all gives me a bad feeling..." commented Téa as she stacked the dinner dishes along the counter to dry.

"Well, why don't you keep an eye on things there and we'll let you know if anything turns up here, okay?" suggested Miranda to Gema.

"Right, that sounds like a plan," agreed Gema, nodding although no one on the other end could see her doing so.

"Oh! One thing!" exclaimed Kenyon, jumping away from the section of the wall he had been leaning against. There was a quick pause before he continued. "Does Kaiba know anything about the philosopher's stone?" Everyone who heard his remark crashed into the ground.

Miranda, who was the first to pick herself up, pulled the bell out of her pocket, causing it to make a very faint tinging sound. That sound was all too familiar to Kenyon and he instantly stiffened up, his blue-green eyes going a fraction wider.

"Shuttingupnow," he said in a single breath.

"Listen, I'd better get back to work," said Gema. "But keep me posted if anything turns up, okay?"

"Promise," agreed Miranda and they both hung up.

Miranda turned around and glanced at the others crammed into the RV. Téa had her back to everyone as she finished washing the last dish. Tristan was drying and putting them away, reaching towards a cupboard near the roof of the trailer. Joe had kicked his feet back and was lounging with his legs resting on the table. Kenyon and Duke were near here, sitting on a small sofa and listening to her conversation. As she hung up the phone Duke stood up and made a gesture, offering his seat to her before walking over closer to Téa and Tristan. He tossed his dark hair and was about to say something when Miranda interrupted with an observation.

"Where's Yu-Gi and Rebecca?"

"Huh?" asked Téa, turning around while drying her hands off on a spare towel. She glanced at the table where the two had been sitting but their seats were empty. In addition, there wasn't anywhere else they could hide in the small RV. "They were right there..."

"Maybe they went to the bathroom," suggested Joe with a shrug, picking his teeth with the edge of his nail, his other hand resting on his stomach from the meal.

"At the same time?" asked Téa in disbelief, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Oh, they just went outside," Kenyon answered. "Maybe they needed to get some air or wanted look at the remains of the lab or something."

"Why didn't they say anything?" asked Duke, mostly rhetorically.

Miranda replied with a shrug and pulled a small book out of backpack. She sat further back on the sofa, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible and opened to the index, holding the book closer to the left side of her body due to her eye. Kenyon shifted beside her, allowing her room to move her elbows.

"What's that?" asked Tristan, noticing the book in her hand as he sat down opposite of Joe at the narrow kitchen table.

"Hm?" she asked, pulling her attention away from the book. "Oh, this is The Handbook of Ancient Wisdom, the treasure-house to superstition and other folklore."

"Ancient wisdom?" echoed Tristan.

"I thought with a name like Seal of Orichalcos I'd find it in here, but it looks like there's nothing on it," she answered with a sigh, still fingering the index.

"Hm, nice thought though," commented Duke with a nod.

"Yeah, it wa—," started Miranda but she suddenly gasped in surprise. Her exposed eye grew distance, not focusing on anything present in the trailer. A tremor ran through both of her hands before she clutched at her face, the book falling into her lap before sliding onto the floor. A faint moan of pain and fear escaped from her lips as her eye continued to remain distant.

"Miranda!" gasped Kenyon, leaping to her feet the moment she first gasped.

"What happened?!" demanded Duke, stepping forward to help.

"No, don't!" exclaimed Kenyon, grabbing his wrist before he could reach his friend. "She's done this before. Best to not touch her or move her until she snaps out of it." His usual carefree demeanor vanished for a moment, replaced by a brief serious expression hidden beneath the surface. A moment later Miranda took a series of deep breaths and his usual smile reappeared.

"What—was that?" she gasped, her eye wide open

"What was what? That's our question!" said Duke.

"You're freaking us out here," agreed Tristan.

"I'm freaking myself out, I just had a scene in mind but it's one I've never seen before..." she answered, still sounding shaken. Her hands gripped her knees to prevent them from shaking. She gulped down more air.

"What did you see?" asked Kenyon, his calm mood helping her.

She shook her head a moment to clear it. "It was a large stone room—like a temple. The were three snake statues—I think they were an altar." Her voice wavered. "Then, then there was a dark figure standing in front of it, a man with eyes different colors. There was a bright flash of green light and...and..." She took another deep breath. "He turned and looked right at me. **Right at me!** Then I came back here." She glanced away, her hands clenched and pale.

"Wow, what a dynamic cut scene this time," murmured Kenyon.

"This time?" echoed Duke. "You mean this kind of thing has happened before?"

Kenyon nodded but Miranda gave the verbal answer, "This...this is the first time I had this sort of vision." She shook her head again. "He _looked_ at me! He shouldn't...no one should be able to!" She tried to sound calm but the panic in her voice couldn't be masked.

"Let me get you a cup of tea or water or something," volunteered Kenyon, taking two steps towards the kitchenette and opening the refrigerator.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay after something like that? Don't you need to lie down...?" asked Tristan, sounding a bit incredulous. Miranda didn't reply.

"Why would she read something like this?" asked Téa, stepping over and picking Miranda's book off of the floor. She flipped through the first few pages, attempting to briefly understand the contents buried within the pages.

Kenyon shrugged as his mess of blond hair appeared over the refrigerator door, "Miranda likes those kind of books. It's her job or hobby or something." He walked over and handed Miranda a still-sealed bottle of cold water. "Here." He offered her a broad, reassuring smile.

"Oh, thanks," she murmured, still on edge, accepting the offered drink.

"Don't mention it," Kenyon smiled back. "Just take it easy tonight, okay?" She nodded once, distantly hearing him, drifting into her own thoughts.

"Geesh, you'd think we'd be used to strange things like this," interjected Joe, to break the awkwardness that had fallen around the trailer. "With everything that's happened when Yug's around, this shouldn't be nothing."

"What do you mean?" asked Miranda, slowly, her head tilted slightly. "I haven't sensed anything 'strange' about him."

"Well if you consider the Shadow Realm and the Millennial Items normal then Yug's perfectly normal," answered Joe, casually.

"Joe!" scolded Téa, but her remark came a bit too late.

"Shadow Realm? More magic my handbook doesn't have archived?" asked Miranda, her tone nearly impossible to read.

Téa continued to shoot a deadly glare in Joe's direction, warning him to not continue on the subject. Joe, his mouth already opened to explain more, coughed several times. Téa gave Miranda and Kenyon an unconvincing smile to let the matter slide while Tristan rubbed the back of his head, looking awkwardly at the floor. Miranda look to Duke for an answer but he replied with a shrug.

"My book is brand new, how can this be missed...?" she asked in a small voice.

"Well, whatever it is, you've got our help," beamed Kenyon. He spoke energetically with exaggerated motions as he continued. "We'll take on Rent-A-Zilla, fight off the dinosaurs, help Superman, destroy the evil ring, conquer Hades in the underworld, send Capricorn back into Inkheart, and recover the philosopher's stone, all before bed time!"

Unfortunately, no one shared his energy. When he finished with his small speech it was so quiet in the RV that a cricket could be heard chirping. However, that didn't bother Kenyon one moment. He rubbed his messy spikes but still continued to grin broadly. Miranda let out a small breath and shook her head at his antics.

"He seriously is always like that, isn't he?" Duke asked her, softly enough that she was the only one to hear him. Miranda answered with a slight, single nod.

"It's going to be a long night," sighed Miranda, her eye sweeping around the RV to the window, glancing up to the multitude of stars that were sparkling like jewels above the desertscape.


End file.
